Canada’s Transport Minister isn’t afraid to dole out blame - and financial penalties to airlines - in defence of Canadian pax frustrated by months of systemic, post-pandemic flight delays and cancellations.
But one recent tweet by a frustrated customer saw Omar Alghabra cornered.
Open Jaw usually takes the high road with the notion that ‘we aren’t the complaints department’ and doesn’t report individual customer complaints.
However, one irate passenger’s post on social media recently managed to get a direct response from Canada’s Transport Minister.
WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech found himself delayed on a flight on his own airline 06JUL.
And with an unhappy-faced tweet from his seat, he was quick to lay the blame elsewhere than his own airline’s door:
Frustrating! Delayed by 2.5h on our own @WestJet flight to @yvrairport because @navcanada is understaffed ????. We would have been perfectly on time, now many guests will miss their connections. Shows again why we need a proper shared accountability system across the entire sector! pic.twitter.com/Tc1KC70Z5D
— Alexis von Hoensbroech (@AHoensbroech) July 6, 2023
Recently-updated air passenger protection rules make airlines responsible for compensating passengers for flight disruptions - regardless of whether the airline is responsible for the delay or cancellation.
The industry and airlines themselves, facing stricter rules and higher compensation bills, have been pushing back. And von Hoensbroech has been particularly vocal in calling for responsibility - and financial penalties - to be shared among all air industry parties whose performance contributes to flight disruptions. That includes the work of federal workers including border and security staff - and NAV Canada’s air traffic controllers.
The numbers of air traffic controllers in Canada - and worldwide - plummeted during the pandemic due to retirements and buyouts. Now there’s a critical shortage.
Following WestJet’s CEO’s tweet, NAV Canada admitted to BNN Bloomberg that “aircraft capacity issues" in Vancouver combined with "unplanned absences" of staff were the cause of the delay of von Hoensbroech’s flight.
On 07JUL, the Minister of Transport attending a media conference on a different subject found himself pinned down by reporters asking about von Hoensbroech's tweets and the issues of accountability it raised.
As CTV News reports, the tables were turned on Alghabra, who has deflected the air industry’s demands that all industry stakeholders in on-time flight performance be held responsible.
“I’ve had conversations with the CEO of NAV Canada about ensuring that staff and air traffic controllers are available,” Alghabra told media during the conference when asked about von Hoensbroech’s tweet.
On its part, NAV Canada said that it "takes any staffing-related (Ground Delay Programs) very seriously, and we work actively to mitigate them through forecasting, optimizing scheduling and bringing in additional resources," the organization said in a statement, adding that it has 400 new staff in training, with 600 more starting training in the next two years.
WestJet’s CEO isn’t the only one to cry foul on Ottawa’s stance.
“Why do we only have air traffic controllers entering the workforce now, when we knew the shortage was already impacting flights last summer?” asks Duncan Dee, former COO of Air Canada, in an interview on CTV News.
He also pointed out there were nearly 2000 flight delays and cancellations over the Canada Day long weekend, with plenty of blame to go around.
The Minister of Transport noted that air travel in Canada is seeing fewer delays and cancellations than last summer - even as the federal government perceives flight disruption issues critical enough to warrant those newer, stricter passenger protection rules that force airlines - and only airlines - to pay up when things go wrong.
Von Hoensbroech may have more tweeting to do yet.
