Toronto Pearson Airport has been limiting flights to and from the United States in recent months in response to staffing levels at the government agencies.NATHAN DENETTE/The Canadian Press
The operator of Toronto Pearson Airport will limit the number of flights and passengers for the March break and summer travel season.
The unspecified caps come after travellers at Canada’s biggest airport experienced a chaotic Christmas and summer marred by cancelled flights, overcrowded terminals and long waits aboard parked aircraft.
The measures include hourly limits on commercial and business flights, and caps on international passengers, said Rachel Bertone, a spokeswoman for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. She declined to provide details.
“These slot measures strike a balance between airline requests and the capabilities of the entities across the entire airport ecosystem, including airlines, NAV Canada, [and U.S. and Canadian customs services] to deliver successfully on travel demand,” Ms. Bertone said.
Pearson has been limiting flights to and from the United States in recent months in response to staffing levels at the government agencies, she said. Other steps include the installation of technology that monitors gates and alerts ground crews when required, increased testing and training on the luggage system, and more spare parts on hand for the baggage mechanisms, to avoid downtime because of breakage.
John Gradek, a McGill University aviation management lecturer, said the move is a reaction to pressure from government to show it will avoid repeats of the recent travel chaos.
The summer of 2022 marked a return to travel for many Canadians after two years of pandemic restrictions. However, airlines and government agencies did not have enough staff to manage the surge, and people travelling through Canada’s major airports complained of jammed terminals, flight delays and long lines to retrieve bags and go through security checks. The winter holidays were thrown into chaos by winter storms and cold weather across Canada that caused widespread flight cancellations, lost luggage and dashed vacation plans.
He said the announcement, made less than two weeks before March break, comes late for airline schedulers, and could lead to flight cancellations. The impact on travellers will depend on the size of the limits, he said.
Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said the airline was notified of the GTAA’s plan in August, and designed the winter schedule based on the limits.
“We work with our industry partners to meet the requirements of airports and other third parties to drive operational improvements and support the smooth running of the air transport system,” he said. “This includes, as in this case, adapting our schedule as required, which we have done.”