A growing number of travelers find themselves stuck in seemingly endless queues at Montréal-Trudeau. At the gates of the summer season, the delays seen at other airports are setting in here as well. Labor shortages and sanitary measures will test the patience of holidaymakers.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
Josée Duval couldn’t believe her eyes on May 22, when she returned from Cancún, Mexico. After half an hour of waiting on the tarmac because the plane did not have access to a terminal walkway, she was not at the end of her troubles when she left the aircraft.
“Painful, painful, painful, she says, in a telephone interview. I had never seen a queue like that. The waiting area to access customs was crowded. You had to wait at the back of the terminal before you even had access to the stairs leading to the waiting area. »
The plane that carried Mme Duval landed a little before 7 p.m. at Montreal-Trudeau. Three hours later, the latter had still not left the airport. His advice to vacationers? Patience.
If you want to travel, you have to accept that there is a lack of personnel. Waiting like that, that had never happened to me and I made trips.
Josée Duval, who waited long hours when she arrived at Montréal-Trudeau on May 22
If the portrait at Montréal-Trudeau does not yet seem as nightmarish as in Toronto (Pearson) and Vancouver, where several reports have related the miseries of travellers, it risks deteriorating as the volume of users is expected to grow. as the summer season approaches.
PHOTO THE PRESS
A queue in the hallway of the terminal to access the customs waiting area on May 21
Earlier this month, Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), manager of Montréal-Trudeau, believed it was doing well while anticipating more difficult days during the summer. Several travelers have contacted The Press to show a very different situation.
“Inevitably, things will get worse before they get better, because we are not yet in peak periods,” said Robert Kokonis, president of the consulting firm Air Trav.
There will be more flights and more passengers. It will also be necessary to train recruits at airports. Things are not going to recover quickly.
Robert Kokonis, president of the consulting firm Air Trav
In an email, ADM now recommends that travelers arrive “at least three hours before the departure of their flight”, and this, “regardless of the destination”. A few weeks ago the recommendation was two hours.
What’s wrong?
The challenges are many. Sanitary measures, such as random testing and information to be entered in the application ArriveCan, burden the protocols. There are also fewer customs officers, according to the Customs and Immigration Union. The organization claims to represent 200 agents in Montreal, or 25% less than before the pandemic.
“We should not be surprised when so few agents are assigned to check travelers and that several counters are empty,” laments the union, which urges Ottawa to increase the number of staff.
The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) lacks officers to check travelers before they leave. The federal agency hopes to add up to 175 additional officers – about 30% of the current workforce at Montreal-Trudeau.
In a context of labor shortage, recruits do not run the streets and training is spread over four weeks. Up to a month can elapse between the date of hire and arrival in the position. These agents must be recruited by the subcontractor Securitas Aviation Canada. The company is CATSA’s partner for airports in Eastern Canada.
“As for recruitment issues, they have been the same for more than a year with some regions more difficult than others,” said Jean-Charles Gris, president of Securitas, in an email.
He did not indicate when CATSA made its labor requirements known. It was not possible to know if Securitas was taken aback by its client.
At the end of the day on Friday, the Trudeau government acknowledged the problem, without however specifying when the situation would return to order. Health protocols remain in place, and Ottawa is therefore relying mainly on adding staff to airports.
“Enormous pressure”
You also had to be patient before picking up your suitcases? It’s because there’s sand in the gear there too. Several companies are struggling to find the necessary employees to, for example, refuel planes on the tarmac and unload baggage.
Before the pandemic, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) said it represented more than 1,000 people at carriers like Air Canada and other service providers like Swissport and ATS. According to the union’s Quebec coordinator, Michel Richer, the number of members has shrunk by half.
“Workers were laid off during the pandemic and they haven’t come back,” says Mr. Richer. Companies are adding flights, but there are no more staff. This puts enormous pressure on the system. Companies are trying to hire. »
He does not foresee any improvement in the short term since the training of new employees does not happen overnight.
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- 74%
- Canadian carriers are expected to be at 74% of their pre-pandemic capacity between July and September.
SOURCE: CIRIUM