MONTREAL –
Transport Minister Omar Algabra says the Canadian airport security agency is increasing its staff, but that the lack of workers is not the main culprit for the unacceptable delays passengers face this spring.
Many airports report extremely long queues at airport security checkpoints and border checkpoints, while passengers say they have to wait for hours – and sometimes miss their flights.
Toronto Airport Authorities said last week that challenges with staff at Canada’s Air Security Authority (CATSA) are contributing to the long queues at Toronto’s Pearson Airport.
But Algabra said on Wednesday that security agency personnel were at 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels, while the volume of flights was still below 70 percent, so that could not be the main problem.
Other industry observers say it is not a question of flight volume.
Big airlines see capacity at 70 or 75 percent of 2019 levels, said John Gradek, head of the aviation management program at McGill University. But the number of passengers passing through key centers such as Toronto and Vancouver airports is approaching pre-pandemic figures, he said.
“Air Canada and WestJet, both of which operate significantly more international flights, many of which land at these two airports,” he said.
Domestic routes are also increasing.
Air Canada has 14 flights a day between Toronto and Vancouver, compared to 12 a day in 2019. “And instead of having a 200-seat Dreamliner, you have a 777 with 350 seats,” Gradek said.
“There are a lot more passengers on these planes.”
Algabra said out-of-practice travelers are causing delays at security checkpoints as Canadians return to travel after spending most of the past two years because of COVID-19.
“Taking out laptops, taking out liquids – it all adds 10 seconds here, 15 seconds there,” he told reporters.
The change in flight schedules has also led to large numbers of flights leaving and arriving at the same time, causing great difficulty at certain times of the day, he said.
“They have to adjust to that … The peaks and valleys were not as pronounced as they are now.”
More last minute bookings from passengers can throw another key into the turbine.
“CATSA used to rely on a six-month forecast when it comes to labor distribution. Now they have to rely on a 72-hour, 48-hour volume forecast. They’re adjusting,” Algabra said.
“I am confident that the CEO understands the sense of urgency. I reinforced his sense of urgency on Monday.
Gradek said more staff – both at checkpoints and among airlines that could comb security lines for passengers with unavoidable departures and force them to the front – would ease the suffocation points.
Lagging is especially likely to accumulate in the afternoon and evening, when the abundance of international travel goes hand in hand with more domestic take-offs and landings.
This challenge is in line with the Security Agency’s explanation for the clogged airports.
“Before the pandemic, resources could be used more efficiently between cross-border and domestic and international checkpoints due to the gradual peak of passengers,” the agency said last week.
“With the resumption of air travel, we are seeing simultaneous peaks, which could lead to flooding of passengers at more than one checkpoint at a time, making the redistribution of resources to deal with these numbers of passengers more challenging.
The agency’s chief executive Mike Saunders said staff was the main reason for the annoying delays.
While the corporation’s security executives – who are responsible for providing the inspection staff with a workforce – are working to increase staff, they are not immune to the recruitment challenges facing the wider commercial aviation industry and really a lot of industries across Canada at the time, “he said in a statement.
This Canadian Press report was first published on May 11, 2022.
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