Long lines, canceled flights, delays and lost luggage are issues that permeate not only Canada’s major airports, but those in other countries as well, a travel expert says. “We’re seeing the exact same issues happening at all the major airport hubs around the world,” Jennifer Weatherhead, founder of travelandstyle.ca, told CTV News Channel on Sunday. “So Europe is dealing with a lot of these issues, the US is certainly dealing with a lot of these issues, not only with flight delays but also with cancellations because they say they don’t have enough pilots sometimes to fill them on flights and I’m taking people from place to place. So it’s a bit of a worldwide issue and I’ll keep that in mind.” Weatherhead advises travelers to get to their departure airports as early as possible and check that their travel insurance covers trip cancellations, interruptions and lost or stolen luggage. “Be prepared for delays at all times,” he said. The airline industry cut thousands of jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for travel plummeted. Now, with the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in many jurisdictions, demand for travel has recovered, but staffing levels have not kept pace. Travel in the US has been especially tense recently due to the July 4 holiday weekend, with airports experiencing their largest crowds since the pandemic began more than two years ago. Tracking website FlightAware reported more than 6,800 flight delays and another 587 cancellations at US airports on Friday, and more than 2,200 delays and 540 cancellations were recorded by late Saturday morning. Airlines including Delta, Southwest and JetBlue have reduced their summer schedules to avoid further problems, as have Air Canada and WestJet. Outside North America, a technical fault on Saturday left at least 1,500 pieces of luggage stranded at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport, with 15 flights departing without luggage. Airport workers are also on strike in France, demanding more hiring and pay to keep up with global inflation. As a result, aviation authorities have canceled some flights. In Amsterdam, the city’s Schiphol Airport announced last month that it would limit the number of travelers departing each day to prevent long queues and missed flights. The airport also advises travelers to arrive no more than four hours before their flight to ensure a “smooth flow” at check-in counters and security. Richard Vanderlubbe, director of the Association of Canadian Travel Agents and president of tripcentral.ca, told CTV News Channel on Saturday that if a pilot or crew calls in sick, an airline must try to find a qualified pilot for that aircraft. Many people also left the airline and travel industries for other “safer havens,” he said. “Of course, when we’re under constraints and we’ve had all these constraints for so long, to expect things to turn on like a light switch is not very realistic,” he said. Justus Smith told CTV News Channel on Sunday that he booked a flight from Regina to Boston, but a connecting flight through Toronto on June 25 was canceled. He took a flight the next morning and chose to spend the night at the airport. Even though it was 13 hours early, Smith says he couldn’t get through customs more than four hours before his departure. Smith says he ended up missing his flight after being delayed at customs and security. He eventually made it to Boston, but says he didn’t receive his checked baggage. Now a week later, Smith is still waiting to get his bags. “I spent the week in a professional development class. I was the only one in shorts and a baseball cap because I had no clothes,” he said. Despite the situation, Smith credited airport staff for the work they do under difficult conditions. “The individual workers at the airport, they’re amazing. Everyone’s doing their best,” he said. “You see a lot of angry customers. There’s no point in being angry. It’s frustrating, but you can’t take it out on the staff.” With files from CTV News and the Associated Press
