OTTAWA (ON), August 18, 2022 /CNW/ – The Minister of Transport, the Honorable Omar Alghabrathe Minister of Health, the Honorable Jean-Yves Duclosthe Minister of Public Security, the Honorable Marco Mendicinoand the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, the Honorable Randy Boissonnaultreleased this update today on the ongoing actions and progress made by the Government of Canada and industry partners to reduce traveler wait times and delays at Canadian airports.
Government and industry actions
The Government of Canada and airline industry partners continue to take action to reduce airport congestion and help travelers get around, including:
Continued action to advance passenger rights
In Canada, airlines must comply with the requirements of the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, which outline passenger compensation requirements for delayed or canceled flights due to incidents within an airline’s control, including crew shortages. New regulations coming into force on September 8, 2022, will also ensure that passengers are compensated for flight incidents that occur outside an airline’s control, such as major weather events or a pandemic. The Government of Canada strongly encourages Canadians to know their rights when traveling by air under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations.
The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) is the independent, quasi-judicial regulator of Canada’s national transportation system, with the powers of a court to enforce the rules and regulations under which airlines operate.
To ensure the CTA has the resources to enforce the rules, the Government of Canada has provided a $11 million to the Agency as part of Budget 2022. This additional funding will help it resolve disputes with passengers more quickly.
Collaborate with partners to find solutions
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Over the past few weeks, Minister Alghabra has met with senior leaders from many airports and airlines of all sizes across the country to ensure continued collaboration and ongoing measures that will help reduce delays for travellers. Similar meetings will continue to be scheduled in the coming weeks.
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Transport Canada continues to meet regularly with airports and airlines alongside the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the Canadian Border Services Agency of Canada (CBSA) and NAV CANADA to find solutions and resolve congestion problems affecting travel.
Increased staff for security screening and customs processing
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Since April, over 1,700 CATSA screening officers have been hired across Canada.
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Efforts to increase the number of screening officers at all airports continue, including at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport and Calgary International airport.
Streamlined customs processing at Toronto Pearson International Airport
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To further facilitate entry and expedite traveler processing, there are now 12 electronic gates, four dedicated NEXUS electronic gates and 30 new Primary Inspection Kiosks (PIKs) at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
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There has been a significant decrease in the number of aircraft held up at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Improving ArriveCAN
The Government of Canada continues to make improvements to ArriveCAN to make it faster and easier for travelers to use.
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Over 1.4 million travelers successfully used the ArriveCAN app last week.
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Travelers arriving at Toronto Pearson, Vancouver or Montreal-Trudeau International Airports can save time by using the optional CBSA Pre-Declaration feature in ArriveCAN to submit their customs and immigration declaration prior to arrival.
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Early usage data indicates that using the CBSA’s Optional Advance Declaration reduces the time a traveler spends at a kiosk by approximately one-third. In the week ending August 14the CBSA advance declaration was submitted by 33.9% of passengers arriving at these three airports.
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In the coming months, the optional feature will also be available for travelers arriving at Calgary, Edmonton, WinnipegBilly Bishop City of Toronto, OttawaQuebec and Halifax international airports.
Latest data
Related link
Completed flights
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For the week of August 8-14, 202298% of scheduled flights for Canada’s four major airports have been completed (i.e. not canceled), an improvement from 95% in the first week of July.
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It’s pretty much the same as in 2019, where for the week of August 12-1899% of scheduled flights for the four main airports have been carried out.
Point performance
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Of August 8-14, 2022more than 86% of flights from the four major airports departed on time or within an hour of their scheduled departure.
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This is a significant improvement from less than 75% for the first week of July and is almost identical to pre-pandemic levels in August 2019 where 92% of flights were on time or within an hour of scheduled departure.
Aircraft held at Toronto Pearson International Airport
Waiting time at passenger security check
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Of August 8-14, 202287% of passengers at the four largest airports were screened within 15 minutes by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), an improvement from the 79% recorded in the first week of July.
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SOURCE Transport Canada
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