Authorities are responding to growing reports of chaotic delays and long wait times at major Canadian airports, with staff shortages plaguing operations as demand and seasonal traffic increase.
Staffing Shortages, Health Checks Lead to "Doubled" Security Waits for Departing Pax
Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) CEO Mike Saunders says the organization is "aggressively" working to find a solution to cases of pax missing flights due to long delays in passenger screening. CATSA is a federal organization responsible for all passenger security screening.
Travellers at YVR on the weekend of 30APR also found themselves waiting in long line ups on their way to their gates, with some even missing their scheduled flights due to delays.
Mike McNaney, chief external affairs officer at YVR, cited CATSA's ongoing staffing shortage as the contributing factor to delays in processing passengers through security. "We certainly have concerns about the summer schedule when the demand will increase even further and what we are looking for now from CATSA management is their plan in the short-term to address the challenges," McNaney said.
Meanwhile at YYG, CEO Doug Newson is recommending passengers arrive two hours before their scheduled flight, as the airport is expecting to be even busier than it was pre-pandemic.
"It's great to see recovery happening so quickly, but it is going to come with all of these challenges around infrastructure and lineups and things like that. So, you know, it's good news, but at the same time, we want people to travel in as low a stress environment as possible. So we just encourage people to get here a little bit earlier than normal during the summer months," Newson said.
Travellers at YYZ on 02MAY found themselves in longer lineups for domestic and international outbound flights than expected due to security staff shortage. YYZ advised travellers on 02MAY to leave extra time for travel, and added that health checks to cover the increased number of travellers through the airport have "doubled" processing times.
CATSA Response: Apologies and "Recruitment Challenges"
CATSA CEO Mike Saunders released a press statement on 02MAY, apologizing for the inconvenience to air travellers, while also stating the corporation is working to address the situation. He cites pent-up demand for air travel, as well as a "significant number" of layoffs through the pandemic as contributing factors to the recent delays.
"We are continuing to work with our screening contractors to take all steps possible to increase staffing levels while ensuring we continue to provide the highest levels of security screening," Saunders wrote. However, he also acknowledged that CATSA is facing recruitment challenges in adding new staff.
In the meantime, Sunders recommends that passengers should arrive even earlier in advance for their flights - two hours for domestic and three hours for U.S. and international destinations.
Meanwhile, Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra says Transport Canada has been working with CATSA, "ensuring that we have the adequate resources to respond to this surge of need for travelling."
However, Alghabra was unable to confirm when these issues may be resolved. "I don't think that we'll immediately be able to resolve this," he said, while adding that it will take at least a few weeks.
Customs Line Ups on Return to Canada "Significantly Longer" than Pre-Pandemic
Meanwhile, travellers coming into YYZ are also reporting hour-long waits to deboard then proceed through another long line to be cleared by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) agents.
“It’s taken over 4 hours to clear customs,” one traveller told CityNews 680 on 02MAY, who also shared a video of hundreds of passengers lined up in Terminal 3.
YYZ spokesperson Tori Gass told local media that, “Currently, the processing time per passenger by CBSA officers is still significantly longer than prior to the pandemic given the ongoing Public Health Agency of Canada requirements.”
Gass clarified that pre-pandemic, it took a CBSA officer an average of 30 seconds to process an international passenger, whereas now the process can take up to two minutes on average.
CityNews reportedly reached out to CBSA with an inquiry on their staffing levels, but did not hear back.
According to YYZ officials, there are 30,000 internationals arriving per day, and that number is expected to reach around 45,000 into the summer season.
