The Government of Canada and industry continue efforts to reduce traveller wait times and congestion at Canadian airports  

July 27, 2022                 Ottawa                   Transport Canada

The Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, the Minister of Health, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, the Minister of Public Safety, the Honourable Marco Mendicino, and the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, issued this update today on progress being made by the Government of Canada and industry partners to reduce traveller wait times and congestion at Canadian airports.

The Government of Canada and air industry partners continue to make efforts to increase resources and streamline processes across the air system to ease airport congestion and help keep travellers moving, including:

Collaborating with air industry partners

Minister Alghabra continues to meet with senior leadership at airports and airlines of all sizes across the country to ensure ongoing collaboration that will help reduce delays and keep travellers moving. This week, the Minister met with the leadership of the J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport to discuss the recovery of the sector. The Minister also had similar meetings last week with senior officials from the Edmonton, Vancouver, Kamloops and Prince George airports.

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 Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and NAV CANADA to find solutions to address bottlenecks affecting travel.

Increasing staffing for security screening and customs processing

Since April, more than 1,600 CATSA screening officers have been hired across Canada. The number of screening officers at Toronto Pearson International Airport and Vancouver International Airport are now over 100 percent of summer target levels. Efforts to increase screening officer staff levels at all airports continue.

CBSA is making more border services officers available at the most congested airports, has temporarily re-hired retired officers and has hired additional student border services officers.

Streamlining customs processing at Toronto Pearson International Airport

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority and the CBSA are adding 10 new eGates and 30 more primary inspection kiosks at Toronto Pearson International Airport by the end of this week. CBSA continues to monitor and prepare for peak arrival times to maximize efficiencies.  

Improving ArriveCAN

Travellers arriving at Toronto Pearson International Airport or Vancouver International Airport, and later this month at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport, can save time by using the Advance CBSA Declaration optional feature in ArriveCAN to submit their customs and immigration declaration in advance of arrival. This feature will also be expanded to other international airports in the coming months.

Information resource for passengers experiencing flight delays, cancellations and lost or delayed baggage

The Canadian Transportation Agency developed an information resource to help passengers who are experiencing issues during their travel. This guide provides answers to many frequently asked travel questions and advises passengers of their rights under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations should their flights be delayed or cancelled, or in the event their baggage is lost, damaged or delayed.