Toronto Pearson continues to experience some of the highest rates of delayed flights around the world, and the critics are pouncing. But we’re also seeing problems at the Toronto City Centre/Island Airport and at Montreal Trudeau.
The airline tracking website Flight Aware sparked a worldwide condemnation of Canada’s busiest airport when it reported that Pearson’s delay rate for the period from May 26 to July 9 was 52.5%. That was the highest in the world, and Pearson was the only airport on the planet with a cancellation rate higher than 50%.
Things started to get better, but progress seems to have stalled. Quoting Flight Aware stats, the CBC today reports that 57% of all Pearson departures between June 1 and July 24 were delayed. That was the highest rate among the world’s 100 busiest airports. (Montreal Trudeau International Airport had the second worst tally, with nearly 53% of flights delayed.)
Not only are Canadian media outlets roasting YYZ, we’ve also seen major “Pearson Disaster” headlines from the likes of the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, influential publications that reach wealthy American travellers. Some fear that kind of exposure will hurt Canada’s tourism industry at a time when it desperately needs help.
A flight information board at Toronto Pearson Airport. JIM BYERS PHOTO
A Travelweek poll of Canadian consumers, which was released today, found that 44% of respondents said that they’d consider cancelling or deferring their travel plans if airport delays persist or return.
“This chaos is unfortunately resulting from a combination of structural and situational factors that are unlikely to fade away in the near future,” said Frederic Dimanche, director of the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). “Consequently, the reputation damage is likely to continue and to have an adverse effect on Toronto, Canada, and Air Canada. Leisure and business travellers who have a choice may elect to transit through other airports or to choose other destinations.
“The ‘good’ news is that Pearson, although ranked among the worst, is not the only airport that suffers from this crisis. Stories of delays, missed connections, and lost luggage abound in other countries as well. The biggest impact may be at the expense of travel as a sector: Despite the current ‘revenge travel’ mood, many will postpone or cancel air travel,” Dimanche said.
“Unfortunately, the service quality problem is not limited to air travel… I am afraid that we are going to have to get used to higher prices in all tourism sectors (i.e., restaurants, hotels, transportation, attractions) for a lower level of service due to the current labour situation,” he said.
“This is a national embarrassment,” Walid Hejazi, an associate professor of of economic analysis and policy at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, told the CBC. “In the short term, this is clearly going to impact Canadian tourism.”
I wrote earlier this week that things were improving, but it looks like progress has stalled the past few days. Flight Aware says 22 flights were cancelled at Toronto Pearson on Tuesday (3%), while 223 were delayed (38%). That’s a lot better than the 52.5% delay figure for late May to early July, but obviously still very high. For Wednesday, July 27, Flight Aware reported 20 cancellations (3%) and 237 delays (39%); slightly above the Tuesday rate.
For Thursday (July 28), there were 30 cancellations (5%) and 232 delays (38%). Things were actually WORSE at the Toronto City Centre/Island Airport, which saw 11 cancellations (7%) and 60 delays (42%) yesterday. Montreal Trudeau on Thursday had 155 delays (47%), which is a considerably higher rate than Pearson.
Porter Airlines spokesman Brad Cicero said there was bad weather at a number of destinations serviced by Porter out of the Island airport, which caused a number of delays.
As of 5 p.m. Eastern Time today (Friday, July 29) there were 28 cancellations at Pearson (4%) and 155 delays (26% of flights). Montreal was showing seven cancellations (2%) and 67 delays (20%). The Toronto City Centre Airport was showing two cancellations (1%) and 37 delays (36%).
The federal government put out a statement late Friday afternoon, saying progress is being made.
From July 25-28, 86% of passengers at Canadian airports were screened within 15 minutes by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA). It improved from 81% the previous week of July 18-24. For Toronto Pearson, the figure was 85% for July 25-28.
The number of aircraft being held on the tarmac at Toronto Pearson International Airport also has decreased significantly since early May, the government said. For the week of July 18-24, 30 aircraft were held on the tarmac as compared to the peak of 373 the week of May 23- 29, 2022.
“This decrease shows the significant progress that has been made to address bottlenecks and to streamline passenger flows at Canada’s largest airport, by adding more Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers and more kiosks and eGates in the CBSA customs hall.”
