It's The Busiest Season For Travel & The Feds Say Work Still Needs To Be Done On Airport Delays
"Our efforts continue to have a positive impact." ✈️
A sign at Vancouver International Airport. Right: A person looking at a schedule board.
The federal government has announced that progress is being made to reduce wait times for people travelling through Canadian airports, but admits that there is room for improvement.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra will be meeting this week with the CEOs of Canada's six largest airports, airlines and various government agencies "to ensure ongoing collaboration," according to a statement issued by Transport Canada on Monday, June 20.
"The Government of Canada recognizes the impact that significant wait times at some Canadian airports are having on travellers," says the notice.
They also note that this is "a global phenomenon" and that meetings are being held between government groups to find solutions to the bottlenecks affecting travel at various stages between checking in and actually getting onboard a plane.
The feds also say that this week marks the start of the busiest travel season of the year and that they are committed to maintaining the progress already made, as well as improving upon it.
\u201cWe are making more progress on reducing delays at Canada\u2019s major airports! As wait times are improving, we recognize that there is still work to be done and are working with our partners to reduce delays. Details\ud83d\udc47\nhttps://t.co/qFrvPYOPNJ\u201d— Omar Alghabra (@Omar Alghabra) 1655764703
The statement says that at security lines, about 91% of passengers travelling through Toronto Pearson International Airport are being screened within 15 minutes.
As well, at Calgary International Airport, 86% of passengers are screened within 15 minutes. At Vancouver International Airport this figure is 84%, while at Montreal Trudeau International Airport 85% are screened within the same period.
In terms of actions put into place to ease wait times, over 1000 Canadian Air Transport Security Authority have been hired across the country which puts Pearson and Vancouver at over 100% of what will be needed for projected summer traffic.
As well, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is putting more Student Border Services Officers to work and CBSA is also collaborating with Greater Toronto Airports Authority to make even more kiosks available at Pearson.
The mandatory randomized COVID-19 testing has been suspended at all airports in the country until June 30 and going forward, all test swabbing will be done off-site.
"We recognize that there is still work to be done; and we will continue to work with partners to reduce the delays in the travel system and to report back to Canadians," says the government.
Good luck, travellers!
Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.