The Trudeau government says it’s adding more airport screening officers and customs workers to help ease congestion at Canada’s crowded airports. Senior federal ministers issued a statement late Friday to say that the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) “has been working with its contractors to increase the number of screening officers at passenger screening checkpoints. Currently, there are approximately 400 additional screening officers in different phases of their training across the country who will be deployed between now and the end of June.” With Transport Canada’s support, “these recruits will benefit from progressing more quickly through a more flexible Read more
airport security
Canada’s busiest airport is getting a bit lift from Trudeau government. The ruling Liberals today announced $142 million in funding to help Toronto Pearson International Airport recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and to support continued air services and important transportation infrastructure projects at the airport. “As Canada works towards recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, investments in our airport infrastructure continue to be crucial to maintain safety, security, and connectivity for travellers, workers and communities,” the government said in a press release. Investments such as this “also help ensure Canada’s aviation industry is well-positioned to recover from the Read more
Many of us in the travel industry can feel it; that sense of pent-up travel demand. And now we’re seeing proof. Canadian government statistics show that 742,400 Canadians flew back into the country via Canadian airports in December of last year. That’s nearly 70% of the pre–pandemic figure of 1.1 million from 2019. It’s also nearly eight times more than the 93,800 Canadian travellers in December of 2020. Tour companies and cruise ship owners are bumping up their public relations efforts of late, sensing a soon-to-arrive boost in travel. Conventions and meetings are coming back in some parts of the Read more
There’s still more evidence of a travel rebound today. U.S. Transportation Security Administration stats for Wednesday, the day before American Thanksgiving, show that 2,311,979 travellers went through security at U.S. airports. That’s more than double the roughly 1.1 million figure from last year, and nearly 90% of the roughly 2.62 million in 2019. It’s also the largest TSA passenger figure since the start of the pandemic. On Tuesday, two days prior to Thanksgiving Day, TSA processed 2,207,949 passengers. That’s close to the 2,435,170 people who went through security in 2019. Tuesday and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week are usually the busiest Read more
It turns out that the folks at the Transportation Security Administration in the U.S. have a great sense of humour. With the holiday crush looming for U.S. Thanksgiving, the TSA social media team has posted some do’s and dont’s for holiday travel. Specifically, they’ve outlined what is considered a solid Thanksgiving meal item you can take on board the plane, and what’s a liquid (and therefore not allowed, unless it’s the right size). As well as clogging arteries, Thanksgiving can clog American airports. To keep things running smoothly at security checkpoints over the next few days, the TSA has announced which Read more
