As summer approaches, Transport Canada is trying to alleviate airport traffic, which sometimes causes long waits for passengers, some of whom are traveling for the first time in a long time.
“We are working with airports, air carriers and other airport partners to find solutions to reduce delays at airports before the peak summer season,” Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport, and Marco Mendicino, Minister of Transport, jointly announced. from Public Security on Friday via press release.
“The Government of Canada recognizes the impact that high wait times at some Canadian airports have on travellers. As the volume of travel increases, there are reports of delays in many aspects of travel, including Canadian customs, US customs, airport security checks, baggage handling, air services, taxis and the limos. We are also witnessing similar phenomena at other airports around the world,” conceded the ministers, who are nevertheless delighted that Canadians are traveling again.
Specific actions are taken to address this issue. First, the establishment of a departure control committee to address bottlenecks that occur at security checkpoints prior to boarding. Second, the deployment of 400 additional screening officers across the country by the end of June.
Increasing the number of screening officers at passenger checkpoints. Currently, there are approximately 400 additional screeners in various stages of training across the country who will be deployed by the end of June.
CATSA reportedly succeeded in recruiting almost 100% of its target number of screening officers for the summer.
“While there is still work to be done, these efforts are paying off, as shown by the reduction in waiting times during checks. Since the beginning of the month, the number of passengers who waited 30 minutes or more for pre-departure screening at our major international airports, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Pearson, has been reduced by half,” can we learn.
Transport Canada recommends that passengers complete their customs and immigration declaration in advance to save time when arriving at the airport.
“This functionality will be integrated into the ArriveCAN mobile application this summer, and it will also be offered at other airports in Canada in the coming months,” said Transport Canada.
