Travelling this winter? What to expect at the airports after chaotic 2022
After a chaotic 2022, Canada’s air travel sector says it is “winter ready” as travellers will be hoping for a less turbulent time over the holiday period this year.
Last winter, a major snowstorm disrupted travel plans for thousands of Canadians, cancelling or delaying flights around Christmas, with the addition of mechanical issues, poor communication, and lost or misplaced luggage making matters worse.
Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez said last week that he has met with the CEOs of different airlines and they have assured him that they have a “program in place” with increased staffing and protocols that will hopefully avoid what happened last year.
“We saw what happened last year during Christmas. We also saw what happened last year in summer. And that was a huge challenge for everyone,” he told reporters in Ottawa on Dec. 12.
In preparation for this winter, Canadian airlines and airport say they have rolled out a series of new measures from boosting staff, advanced snowplows, to real-time weather monitoring equipment and other digital tools for passengers.
“Winter will always bring challenging weather, so we are reinforcing tools to equip passengers with more information and control over their travel experience,” Deborah Flint, president and CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said in a statement last month, announcing GTAA’s winter travel plans.
Besides increasing staffing at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, there will be newly commissioned advanced snowplows, expanded de-icing capacity and predictive technologies for weather and delay forecasting, the GTAA said in the Nov. 30 statement.
The airport will also use artificial intelligence for “more efficient baggage handling.”
The Montreal-Trudeau
Read more on globalnews.ca
