Airports in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie worry 'growing pains' will delay air travel rebound - Action News
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Sudbury

Airports in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie worry 'growing pains' will delay air travel rebound

Frustrations with flight delays and cancellations in Toronto are spilling over into the airports of northeastern Ontario.

Airports seeing only about half of the flights they did before COVID and few business travelers

A man wearing a mask walking in front of a building that says Greater Sudbury Airport.
Delays and cancellations at Pearson Interational in Toronto is spilling over into the airports of northeastern Ontario, just as travelers start to return after two years of the pandemic. (Erik White/CBC )

Frustrations with flight delays and cancellations in Toronto are spilling over into the airports of northeastern Ontario.

Sault Ste. Marie airport CEO Terry Bos saidthey've had to explain the staffing shortages to several frustrated passengers.

"It doesn't start on our end, but we still have to deal with it," he said, describing the chaos in the industry right now as "growing pains" after downsizing during the pandemic.

He saidoften the last flight of the night doesn't arrive in the Sault, which means the morning flight gets cancelled.

"The small airports in the north, we're ready to rock and roll. We'd love to see the passengers back," said Bos.

"It's unfortunate that some are starting to talk about driving to Toronto because of the issues connecting through Toronto, but if the issue's Toronto, you're going to have that same issue whether you drive there or fly there."

He said the Sault Ste. Marie airport is only seeing "about half" of the flights it did pre-pandemic, although the ones that are taking off are "fairly full."

Passengers arriving in Toronto might have long waits on board the aircraft after arriving at the gate. (Jonathan Castell/CBC)

But the all-important business travellers have yet to fully return to the Sault and that's the same in Greater Sudbury, saiddirector of marketing and airport development Jean-Mathieu Chenier.

"You kind of start to get a little more excited. You start to see a few more cars in the parking lot. You start to see a few more people coming through the terminal," he said, adding that friends and family picking up passengers were recently welcomed back into the airport for the first time in over two years.

Cheniersaidhe does worry about the highly-publicized problems at Pearson prompting people to put off their travel plans for yet another year.

"Any negative experience through an airport will affect other airports," he said.

Chenier'sand Bos'sadvice to those flying in the near future is to get to the airport early and pack a little extra patience.

man with suitcase entering Greater Sudbury airport
There are more passengers flying in and out of Greater Sudbury airport these days, but business travel has not rebounded from COVID-19. (Erik White/CBC )