It seems too cruel to be true. Canadians and Americans this fall finally began travelling again after a two-year pandemic. And now, just as the holiday season arrives, North America is faced with massive weather issues. Fresh off an “unprecedented” number of flight cancellations in British Columbia, Canadian airlines and passengers can now brace for a major storm in Ontario and Quebec. Air Canada has issued snow advisories for Friday for Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto Pearson, Canada’s busiest airport. The forecast for southern Ontario calls for rain on Thursday night, with a “flash freeze” coming behind it on Friday that Read more
flight cancellations
The federal government insists that Canada’s airports are getting much better in terms of delays and cancellations. Government officials put out a release this week saying that, for the week of August 1-7, three per cent of flights planned for Canada’s top four airports were cancelled, compared to 12% over the same period in July. From August 1-7, more than 85% of flights from the top four airports left on time, or within one hour of their scheduled departure. That’s up from 75% for the first week of July. OTHER METRICS Holding of aircraft at Toronto Pearson International Airport * Read more
Passenger activity is way up at Toronto Pearson. It’s not a surprise to anyone who watches the news, but Greater Toronto Area Airport officials today said Passenger activity increased by 8.3 million or 780.4 per cent during the second quarter of 2022. For the first half of the year, passenger activity was up by 12.5 million or 584.1 per cent, when compared to the same periods of 2021. Passenger activity increased given the easing of pandemic-related travel restrictions and pent-up travel demand compared to the same period of 2021. Nevertheless, all measures of operating activity continue to be well below Read more
Toronto is once again marketing itself in the U.S. as a great travel destination. The city has done okay with domestic travel, but U.S. visitors are key to Toronto’s tourism, as foreign visitors tend to stay longer and spend more than domestic visitors. The campaign is called “You Gotta See What We See,” and uses “enthusiastic, passionate Torontonians with stories we believe will resonate with our US audiences specifically.” Sounds like a smart plan to me. Many would-be travellers love to check out Tik Tok and Instagram pages before they book a trip, so why not use those influencers? Geographically, Read more
Members of a House of Commons committee plan to meet Monday to discuss a request for a study of Canadian flight cancellations and airport delays. CTV News reports that members of the House of Commons Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Committee are scheduled to meet on Monday. “Throughout this the height of our travel season, the government has refused to listen to advocates, front-line workers and ordinary Canadians to make common-sense improvements to our country’s airports and scrap their continued measures leading to further delays,” said Conservative transport critic and committee vice-chair Melissa Lantsman, in an email to CTVNews.ca on Friday. Read more
