canada flight disruptions

Prepare for even more flight delays in Canada this holiday season

It hasn't been a good time for airports or airlines recently and things won't get any easier this upcoming holiday season.

Labour disruptions throughout the airline industry will make it harder to fly during peak times with a lack of available staff.

According to the Canadian Press, Air Line Pilots Association Canada president Tim Perry said airlines are not doing enough to secure pilots because they refuse to increase pay at a parlimentary hearing.

This sentiment can be backed up by recent data from Stats Canada which showed the job vacancy rate for the transportation and warehousing industry sitting at 5.9 per cent for the month of August.

Besides construction, health care and social assistance, accommodation and food services and public administration, this is the highest rate for job vacancy.

CP report also states that the president of the Canadian Air Traffic Control Association said there is also a major shortage of traffic air controllers, not even enough to meet requirements.

And a lack of controller means more delays for travellers. 

Of course, the airline industry is still trying to recover from the past two years where, according to Stats Can, the industry decreased by a total of $5.1 billion in 2020.

All of these job vacancies has resulted in gaps and pressure on current employees to take on more workload.

And it doesn't seem Canadian travellers are slowing down either, according to Expedia's data, searches for international flights increased in August and September from Canadian customers.

Additionally, that same data showed a 175 per cent increase in searches for package travel deals from last year.

Here's hoping the situation at Pearson Airport improves even just a little bit - having been ranked as one of the worst airports for delayed and cancelled flights for the majority of the summer.

Lead photo by

Jack Landau


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