Travelers crowd the security queue at the departure lounge at the start of the long weekend for Victoria’s Day at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga on May 20. COLL BURSON / Reuters
A group representing most of the world’s airlines is calling on the Canadian government to repeal other travel rules related to COVID-19 in an effort to reduce the delays faced by people at some airports.
The International Air Transport Association has said that Canada must ensure that there are sufficient staff at security and customs checkpoints and that restrictions on the pandemic are lifted. These include the vaccine requirement, the submission of health and travel information in the ArriveCan application, and random testing for COVID-19. IATA also wants special immigration tapes at airports for international arrivals that have not provided health information in advance to allow others to go through customs more quickly.
“It is clear that people want to travel. Therefore, we cannot afford to allow passengers unacceptable waiting times both on arrival and departure, “said Peter Serda, IATA’s Vice President for North and South America. “The relevant authorities must urgently consider removing the latest remaining restrictions on COVID-19 and working with industry on policies and processes that will allow passengers to pass through airports without undue delay.
Police call Pearson Airport in Toronto as frustration erupts amid delays, baggage handling problems
The resurgence of demand for air travel has led to a shortage of people working at Canada’s busiest airports. Most were laid off during the pandemic and are slowly being replaced in the hot labor market. This has made passengers enraged while staying in parked planes, lining up at security and customs checkpoints or waiting for their luggage.
IATA spokesman Marcus Rüdiger said the line-ups and delays were the worst in Toronto and Vancouver, but also in Montreal. Canada stands out as one of the countries with the most severe shortages of staff and problems with airport congestion, said Mr. Rüdiger from Montreal.
“Unstoppable delays” are cascading to airports in other countries and parts of Canada, he said, causing a shortage of crew and a roar of air traffic.
“It’s pretty awful,” he said. “These are delays, delays, delays.”
Garda World, which manages security checks for government airports in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, is trying to hire “hundreds” of pre-flight security personnel, said spokesman Louis-Antoine Paquin.
But he said the process was slowed by a shortage of available staff, lengthy pre-employment security checks and lengthy training. And employees laid off during the pandemic had no problem finding new jobs, as they retain their security accreditations and are less likely to return.
“People are not staying at home waiting for us to call them for a change,” Mr Paquin said by telephone.
To meet the demand for airport staff, Garda has increased its training staff, recruited and announced roles ranging from $ 21.80 in Toronto to almost $ 26 in Edmonton.
Transport Minister Omar Algabra met with the head of the government agency responsible for security checks and hired contractors, including Garda, in a bid to resolve issues ahead of the busy summer travel season. He recently told reporters that staff shortages are compounded by volatile flight schedules and passengers who are not accustomed to check-in procedures.
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