Canadians may still face air travel delays this summer due to weather and staffing-related issues, but things are better than they were last year, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra told reporters on Friday.
“Today’s performance is way better than it was last year. And it needs to get further better. And we’re working on it,” he said at a media avail at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
“But again, I want to be clear, there are things that are outside the control of everyone.”
WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech on Thursday posted a picture of himself saying his own flight on the airline had been delayed two and a half hours “because @navcanada is understaffed.”
“We would have been perfectly on time, now many guests will miss their connections. Shows again why we need a proper shared accountability system across the entire sector!”
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NAV Canada manages air traffic control and flight planning across the country.
Responding to a question about the Hoensbroech’s complaints, Alghabra admitted that there were staffing issues but said there were many factors behind the delays.
“There are a variety of reasons where sometimes disruptions occur. Some of them are weather-related. Some of them are shortage of staff related,” he said.
“And of course, I’m doing everything I can, and Transport Canada is doing everything we can, to ensure that the entire system works together well to improve efficiency.”
He added that they were consulting with all major stakeholders, including airlines and NAV Canada. Alghabra said Bill C-52, which was tabled last month, is aimed at ensuring broader accountability by adjusting air passenger protections.
“It will require stakeholders to collect data, to publish that data and to establish service standards. We’re working on ensuring that we improve the efficiency of the system,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can to hold the entire system accountable to each other and to improve the efficiency of our system.”
“I want Canadians to plan for their vacations. I want them to worry about which hotel to stay at instead of what’s happening at the airport.”
Tabled in the House of Commons last month, Bill C-52 paves the way for new rules requiring airports and other air travel operators to create service standards and publish data that can be compared against those benchmarks.
The standards could track outcomes ranging from security screening wait times to how long it takes luggage to reach the carousel.
It is not clear from the bill whether violations of the service standards would be penalized.
– with files from The Canadian Press
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