Preparation is in full swing at airports and airlines across the country, as measures are put in place to limit delays during the busy holiday season.
Even if weather forecasts appear favorable, airports and airlines are preparing for any eventuality by increasing staffing levels, deploying upgraded facilities and offering guidance to passengers.
Toronto Pearson Airport expects up to 160,000 people to pass through its gates next week. For its part, Vancouver Airport plans to welcome two million passengers in December, almost 250,000 more than the same period last year.
“In all airports around the world, it’s a very busy time,” admitted Anne-Sophie Hamel, spokesperson for Aéroports de Montréal.
The Montreal airport will be able to benefit from the modernization of one of its two baggage handling areas, recently carried out at a cost of $40 million, in order to be more efficient in baggage management, she pointed out. .
If the weather changes, the airport’s 124 seasonal snow plows will be ready to go to the slopes, said Ms. Hamel.
And if we relive a situation similar to last year, when a “weather bomb” hit Quebec on December 23, snow removal will be done “24 hours a day,” she assured.
New methods
Airports are always very busy during the holiday season. But with the labor shortage that has prevailed since the pandemic, unfavorable weather conditions can quickly complicate things in the management of passengers and various flights.
This year, Toronto Pearson Airport improved its systems to be able to spot problems more quickly, revealed its spokesperson Sean Davidson. It also hired more workers capable of operating its fleet of more than 100 snow removal vehicles, including the 19 new ones it acquired over the past year.
“There is a ton of work that gets done over the months,” recalled Mr. Davidson.
For the moment, the atmosphere remains good in the terminals and on the tarmacs.
“It looks like it will be a green Christmas,” he said.
According to the most recent forecasts from Environment Canada, the sky should be clear in a large part of the country between now and December 25, with temperatures oscillating either side of 0°C.
More staff and preparation
From ground handling to customer service, Canadian airports have hired more staff since the pandemic. Carriers have also adapted.
Air Canada, for its part, argued that its staff will have more experience this year, since many of its employees experienced their first holiday season last year.
The carrier has also allowed more time between flights to make connections easier. It kept six spare planes on its mainline and eight at its regional carrier Jazz. It has also reserved 200 hotel rooms per day in its main destinations for all its customers in difficulty.
At WestJet, we intend to use the fleet of its subsidiary Swoop, now defunct, to help with the resumption of flights.
Aviation industry experts recommend travelers check their flight status before heading to the airport, arrive three hours before departure and use apps to speed up the check-in process.
When flying to the United States, the Mobile Passport Control app allows passengers to provide personal information that will give them access to a faster customs line upon arrival. A similar process exists for returning, with the ArriveCan application.
Airports also have digital tools, such as Toronto Airport’s YYZ Express app, that allow travelers to schedule times to go through security, allowing them to avoid the regular line and go directly to a special queue.
Despite all these measures, not all travelers believe that it will be enough.
This is the case of British Columbian Holly Klitch, who had a difficult experience last year.
In December 2022, she was stuck for eight days in Toronto after returning from a Caribbean cruise with her family, so she was unable to spend Christmas at home.
“We are not going to take this risk again,” she decided.