Toronto's Pearson airport now 2nd worst in world for delays. Ottawa says travel woes on the mend

Fatima Sherefa, 17, had a rough night at Toronto's Pearson Airport on Aug.6.

Her flight from Toronto home to Winnipeg had been delayed several times and then, just after midnight, it was cancelled.

Sherefa says Air Canada staff didn't offer hotel accommodation for the night, and instead passed out yoga mats to stranded travellers.

Sherefasays she slept that night on one of the mats on the floor of a women's nursing room at the airport.

"It was very terrifying, but also a new experience that I don't think anyone should have to go through," she said.

Sherefa is just one of thousands of air passengers caught up in the travel chaos that hasplagued Canada's major airports this summer. As COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in the spring, a sudden surge in travel led to mass delays and cancellations, and airport congestion.

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On Friday, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra told the House of Commons transport committee that COVID-19and a labour shortage within the aviation industry are to blame and that, with the government's help, the travel chaos is dissipating.

"We are seeing significant improvements over the last two months," he said.

But the chaos is far from over. Toronto's Pearson airport, which had the most flight delays in the world for most of the summer, has only moved into second place, according to flight tracking serviceFlightAware. And, since May, more than 7,000 disgruntled travellers have flooded the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) with complaints related to flight disruptions.

The ongoing problems have raised questions about whether the government is doing enough to fix the problem, and if it should have done more before the chaos started.

"The federal government needs to think about, why did this happen?" said Walid Hejazi, an associate professor of economic analysis and policy at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.

"We're one of the richest countries in the world. It's completely unnecessary."

WATCH | Transport minister grilled over airport chaos:

Federal transport minister grilled over summer of airport chaos

2 years ago

Duration 2:40

Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra was grilled by members of a parliamentary committee today about why the government hasnt done more to alleviate the months of airport chaos that Canadian travellers have been facing.

What went wrong?

As with many countries, Canada's travelproblems began when demand surged in the spring and many previously laid-off aviation workers didn't return causing staffing shortages.

But Canada won international attention this summer by topping the charts for flight delays. According toFlightAware, from May through July, Pearson had the highest rate of delays among the world's 100 busiest airportsand Montreal's Trudeau airport came in a close second.

During that period, 53 per cent of flights departing Pearson and 46 per cent departing Trudeauarrived more than 15 minutes late at their destination.

Alghabra said Canada's airports and airlines faced a steeper challenge compared to other countries, because the travel industry here virtually ground to a halt during the pandemic.

"The hole that they're coming out of was deeper," he said.

Alghabra says Ottawa was quick to address the problem.

"We took action from the beginning and we will continue to do so."

But Tim Perry, a WestJet pilot and president of the Airline Pilots Association Canada, argues the government was slow to act.

Perry says he warned the transport committee in January2021 more than a year before the travel surge that Ottawa, the airports and airlines needed to hash out a plan.

"There was no comprehensive co-ordination or restart plan for aviation," he said. "A lot of what we see today was foretold then. And I hate to say 'I told you so,' but I told you so."

It's getting better

Alghabra also said on Friday that due to efforts made by Ottawa and industry partners,the situation at Canada's airports is getting better.

He saidonly two per centof planned flights atCanada's top fourairportshad beencancelled during the second week of August,and measures such as the hiring of 1,700 screening officers and moving COVID-19testing offsite has helped ease congestion.

FlightAware's latest data also shows the situation is improving somewhat.Between Aug. 10 and Aug. 17, 44.1 per cent of flights departing Pearsonwere delayed, dropping it to the No. 2 spot.London's GatwickAirport topped the list this time with 45 per centof flights delayed.

Montreal's airport ranked seventh with 39.3 per centof flights delayed.

However, the union representing 15,000 baggage handlers, screening officers and airline mechanics says labour shortages remain a problem.

Dave Flowers, president of District 140 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, says several Canadian airlines or their third-party contractors are currently trying to hirethousands of ground crew workersat the country's major airports.

But Flowers says the jobs are difficult to fill because wages, which range from $16.60 to $21 an hour, aren't competitive enough in a tight labour market.

"I can go to Amazon today and they'll hire me today off the street with benefits from day one, and $21 an hour," he said. "Or you can work in 30 C on the ramp, or plus 40 Con the ramp, loading baggage for the same money."

Flowers warns that if the positions aren't filled soon, travellers should brace themselves for more chaos.

"If they don't fix the problem before the peak of the Christmas period you're going to see this problem come right back again."

Customer complaints

Alghabra was questioned on Friday about what the government is doing to address the numerous passenger complaints that they're being unfairly denied compensation by their airline.

Under federal rules, airlines only have to pay compensation up to $1,000 if a flight delay or cancellation is within an airline's control and not required for safety reasons. Carriers must also cover accommodation costs for flight disruptions within their control.

Alghabra said the CTA is responsible for resolving passenger complaints and that the government has given the transport regulator an added $11 million to deal with the recent flood of grievances.

That cash injection was first announced in the April 2022 federal budget.

Alghabra also said it's "unacceptable to see travellers sleeping on airport floors" because of delays or cancellations.

However, he didn't announce any government action to prevent it from happening again.

MeanwhileSherefa, the passenger, said she hopes the government comes up with a plan.

"Why does [anyone] have to sleep overnight in an airport just because a multi-billion dollar company can't provide a hotel?" she said.