Many domestic flights cancelled or delayed at Pearson Airport in Mississauga
Published June 29, 2022 at 1:47 pm
The majority of domestic flights to Pearson Airport in Mississauga and five more of Canada’s busiest airports were either delayed or cancelled in the past week, a report from an analytics company shows.
According to New Brunswick-based Data Wazo, 54 per cent of domestic flights between June 22 and 28 to Pearson, Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, Halifax and Billy Bishop (Toronto) airports were knocked off schedule to some degree.
About 38 per cent of the flights were delayed and 16 per cent cancelled altogether, the data shows.
The numbers have been brought to light as Pearson and other airports continue to struggle for a variety of reasons to move travellers through their facilities in orderly fashion and on time.
Officials with the airlines and federal government, in addition to the organizations that run the airports, have been scrambling to respond to situations of flight disruptions, lengthy lineups, lost luggage and overall general daily turmoil–most notably at Pearson Airport.
The aviation industry has blamed issues on a shortage of federal security and customs officers, particularly as the summer travel season ramps up.
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Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, also MP for Mississauga Centre, said at a press conference earlier today (June 29) at Pearson that a surge in air travel demand “beyond what anybody expected” is adding to the troublesome mix.
Canada’s airport security agency has reportedly hired more than 900 screeners over the past several months. However, many of those workers are still being trained.
The federal government has also suspended random COVID-19 testing of vaccinated passengers until at least tomorrow (June 30) in an effort to move international travellers through the airports more quickly.
The easing of COVID-19 restrictions the past several months has also led to a dramatic resurgence in air travel in Canada and abroad, the travel industry has noted.
Data Wazo says the flight information gathered for the study is based on arrivals page snapshots at various intervals throughout the day.
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