Air passengers departing from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) are said to arrive early and be prepared for long waits.
Airport administrators say the problem is related to delays in security checks caused by a shortage of staff from Canada’s Federal Aviation Safety Authority (CATSA).
“I’ve been in aviation for more than 20 years, and certainly the delays we experienced last week have never been experienced before,” Mike McNein, YVR’s chief foreign affairs officer, told Global News.
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Passengers are told to arrive at least two hours earlier for a domestic flight and three hours earlier for an international flight.
McNein said the problem began to unravel in early April, when air traffic began to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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But he said airport authorities are limited in what they can do, given that there is no control over security checks.
Airport staff are doing their best to move people to the front of the line if their flight starts soon, or to direct people to other checkpoints if a group is moving particularly slowly.
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“The obligation we now see for CATSA’s management is to provide a plan for how they will manage staff shortages,” he said.
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“The equipment is there, the tapes are there, but not everyone is controlled.”
In a statement, CATSA said it hoped to have new inspection staff ready for the YVR “within the next few weeks”.
The Crown Corporation said there are several factors that affect the timing of waiting for security checks, including more passengers choosing to carry hand luggage and changes in passenger traffic.
“Before the pandemic, resources could be used more efficiently between cross-border and domestic and international checkpoints due to gradual peak passengers,” the statement said.
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“As air travel resumes, 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. ”
McNaney, meanwhile, said people need to be patient, especially with security personnel who are not responsible for the staffing situation.
He said people could also help speed things up by being ready to check checkpoints with metal objects removed from their faces and liquids and gels from their bags.
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