CALGARI – As the Canadian travel industry continues to struggle with an unprecedented recovery in demand, WestJet Airlines Ltd.  operates 32 percent fewer flights to and from Toronto Pearson International Airport in July than before the pandemic.
CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said Calgary-based WestJet had made a series of precautionary flight cuts between March and May in anticipation of logistical problems that led to long queues, flight disruptions and flight cancellations. Canada in recent weeks.
“I do not think there is another airline serving Toronto that has reduced its schedule as much as we do,” von Hoensbroech said in an interview Thursday.  “We were quite cautious and careful in dealing with our flight plans.”
As Canada’s largest airport, Toronto Pearson has been at the center of travel-related troubles affecting the country’s airline passengers since the lifting of COVID-related public health restrictions began.  Airlines and airports that drastically reduced staffing levels when air travel to the ground almost stopped at the start of the pandemic were unprepared for the dramatic resurgence of demand this spring.
WestJet, for example, which reached a pandemic of just 4,000 employees in 2020, raised its capital to 10,000, but is still almost 30 percent lower than the 14,000 employees it had in 2019.
“We have hired more than 1,000 people in the last two months and now we are hiring another 100 people just to meet the baggage challenges.  “We have increased the staff of our call center by 20 percent,” said von Hoensbroech.
“We do everything we can to offer staff, but we also know that in all industries, we see a shortage of staff.  “It’s not just a WestJet problem, it’s not just an aviation problem – it’s a general economy problem.”
According to data analyst Data Wazo, 54 percent of domestic flights to Canada’s four largest airports were either delayed or canceled last week.  The biggest hit was Toronto’s Pearson Airport, with more than 700 flights (51 percent) delayed and 15 percent canceled.
On Wednesday night, Air Canada announced it would cut more than 15 percent of its schedule in July and August by more than 9,500 flights due to a tight airline system.  Most Air Canada flights will disconnect from the airline hubs in Toronto and Montreal.
However, von Hoensbroech said that because WestJet had moved earlier to reduce its capacity in Toronto, it did not expect to have to make additional “structural” cuts to its summer program.
“It may still be necessary to cancel flights in the short term, as has happened in the last two weeks,” he said.  “But that should be limited.”
Airports in other parts of the country operate much more smoothly than Pearson, von Hoensbroech said.  In the Alberta market, for example, WestJet has returned to pre-pandemic flight offerings and things are relatively good.
Nationwide, WestJet operates approximately 530 flights a day this summer, or 25 percent fewer flights than in the summer of 2019.
“We have the advantage of having most of our capacity in western Canada and western Canada being less affected by these operational challenges,” he said.
Earlier this year, aviation industry officials accused the COVID-19 protocols, such as Canada’s requirement of random tests for international arrivals, of contributing to airport bottlenecks.
But problems continued to escalate this month, despite the federal government’s decision to halt the program and other measures, such as a federal spree on hiring security and customs officials.
“I think the only part that’s responsible for this is the pandemic.  “That’s where the problems come from,” said von Hoensbroech.  “I think what we can really say is that there is no party that does not do its homework.  “Everyone is trying to fix this problem.”
Von Hoensbroech said WestJet has made major contingency plans for Canada Day weekend, which is expected to offer the highest travel volumes in the country since 2019. However, he said the airline’s operational parameters, although improved in recent weeks, they are still “far from good” – with travelers unlikely to see significant rest until travel volumes decline in September.
“We have our fingers crossed that this will be a relatively stable weekend.  “But again, the challenges are there,” he said.  “After the summer holidays, things have to look much better.  .  .  And next year, we hope to be in a good position again. “
This Canadian Press report was first published on June 30, 2022.