Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) CEO Mike Saunders has apologized for the inconvenience to air travellers resulting from the recent increase in wait times at some major Canadian airports.
Saunders assured the travelling public that the federal Crown corporation is "aggressively working" to address the situation.
"CATSA is currently experiencing the pent-up demand for air travel occasioned by the pandemic. This follows two tumultuous years that resulted in a significant number of layoffs throughout the aviation industry, including the security-screening workforce," Saunders said in a statement.
"While the corporation's third-party security contractors - who are responsible for providing the screening officer workforce - have been working to increase staffing levels, they are not immune to the recruitment challenges experienced by the broader commercial aviation industry and, indeed, many industries across Canada at this time," Saunders added.
Lines were particularly bad at Pearson Airport in Toronto yesterday. Matthew Green, the NDP MP for Hamilton Centre, told Global News that he reached Pearson airport about 90 minutes before his 8:10 am domestic flight to Ottawa.
He says he arrived to find about 500 people lined up in the airport outside of the gate, in what he described as a "disorganized, chaotic conga line."
What became immediately apparent, Green says, is that the airport was "completely understaffed, unprepared, and unable to accommodate the bottleneck that was happening there."
"Flying back out to Ottawa this morning from Toronto Pearson," Green tweeted, "and it's an absolute gong show through security. Lineup into the gate is at least 500+ deep. There's no ways I'm making this 8:10."
Green was right - he missed the flight and waited two hours for another option.
CATSA's statement added:
"We are continuing to work with our screening contractors to take all steps possible to increase staffing levels while ensuring we continue to provide the highest levels of security screening.
In the meantime, as staffing levels ramp back up across the industry, CATSA strongly advises that passengers arrive at the airport well in advance of their flights - two hours for domestic and three hours for US and international destinations."
Along with the apology, CATSA asked that passengers "show patience and understanding with screening personnel, who are doing their best to move air travellers through the screening process as quickly as possible while ensuring their safety and security."
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