Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) President and CEO Deborah Flint gives a progress update at Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto on Friday, August 5, 2022. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Deborah Flint, head of the company that manages Toronto Pearson Airport, assured travelers that the delays, cancellations and lost luggage that have plagued Canada’s largest air hub are improving, but declined to give targets or say when operations would return to normal.
Ms. Flint, chief executive of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said labor shortages at the airport’s agencies, contractors and airlines are improving and airport staff are working with all parties to better manage schedules, including canceling some flights. On-time performance has improved to 44 percent from 25 percent and 35 percent since the summer travel season began, he told reporters at a news conference on Friday.
But he offered no target or deadline, dashing the hopes of travelers hoping for a smooth journey through the airport. “There is still work to be done to get Pearson back on track,” Ms Flint said.
He noted the complexity of the airport, which housed 400 companies and 50,000 people before the pandemic halted most air travel. Activity at the airport declined to 25% of normal volumes during the COVID-19 health crisis, and much of the workforce was laid off. The quiet period for travel to Canada exceeded many countries due to vaccine requirements and other restrictions that were in place for longer.
As the pandemic eased and some restrictions were lifted, airlines in late spring began offering about 80 percent of their regular schedules.
“Pearson went from being one of the most closed airports in the world to one of the busiest,” he said. “We didn’t go from zero to 100. We went from zero to 500. Our break was longer and our ramp into the summer was much steeper than other airports.”
He pointed to the “shared responsibility” of government agencies and companies working to manage aircraft and passengers. These include the Canadian ministries of transport, health and public safety, NavCanada air traffic control and US border services, in addition to airlines, caterers and contractors handling baggage, fuel and other businesses. Even so, Ms. Flint said she was responsible for making sure all groups were working so passengers wouldn’t be disturbed.
“I take responsibility,” he said. “I’m deeply committed to making sure passengers have a great and reliable experience. Having led the airport to be one of the best airports in the world, I’m committed to making sure we return to that status.”
Airlines have voluntarily cut their schedules there, prompted by airport officials. Air Canada canceled about 10% of its summer schedule, much of it in Toronto and Montreal, to reduce congestion. Executives at Canada’s largest airline said last week that it tried to prepare for the surge by bringing 90 percent of its workforce back to operate 80 percent of its pre-pandemic schedule.
WestJet Airlines has also cut back its schedule and is flying about 80 percent of its regular flights. “We recognize that the travel environment continues to be challenging, and we sincerely apologize to our guests for any disruption we have caused to their long-awaited travel plans,” WestJet Chief Operating Officer Diederik Pen said in a statement.
The problems come even as passenger volumes have not yet reached pre-pandemic levels.
On July 31, security staff at Canada’s eight largest airports screened more than 156,000 people, up from 68,000 on the same day in 2021, but down from the 176,000 screened on July 31, 2019.
Richard Banigan, 80, spent a night recently at Toronto Pearson because the driver he paid to pick him up couldn’t find him amid the chaos.
Mr. Banigan landed at Pearson on an Air Canada flight from Dallas-Fort Worth shortly after 9 p.m. on July 6. The plane idled for an hour on the tarmac before parking at a gate. “It was as far from the arrivals department as you could get, a very long walk,” said Banigan, a retired Royal Canadian Air Force pilot who has heart problems. “There are no wheelchairs, workers or carts, nothing. People had to carry their luggage from hand to hand down this long, long corridor. There were moving sidewalks, but half of them didn’t work.
“So we finally get to arrivals and there’s this huge, long line. Hundreds and hundreds of people with all their bags and all crammed together, no social distancing,” Banigan said by phone from his home near Midland, Ont.
After another 60 minutes, he cleared customs and entered the main terminal. He saw many people sleeping on the floor and on chairs, there was no soap in the toilets and many of the pay phones required coins which he did not have, so he was unable to call his transport service. Outside, the pickup lanes were “total chaos,” blocked with idling cars honking their horns in the dark. His driver was nowhere to be seen. “I was totally exhausted at this point,” he said. “I found a wheelchair and sat in it.”
He was finally brought home at 9am the next morning. “I feel like that was totally unnecessary. It was very obvious that there weren’t enough people running the place,” Banigan said.
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