Airports gear up for passenger surge as spring break tests their capacity
BNN Bloomberg
Airports and airlines prepared for a surge in passengers this week ahead of spring break after a year where the industry has struggled to cope with peak travel times.
March is typically a busy time for the airline industry as provincial spring breaks fall throughout the month and families use the time to travel. Severe staffing shortages and high worker attrition rates were among the factors conspiring to snarl air travel as the sector began recovering from COVID-19-related travel restrictions in 2022 -- with fears they could foil vacation plans yet again.
Last month, the percentage of on-time departures in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal was well below that of airports in Seattle, Chicago, New York City and Boston, according to statistics from travel data company OAG.
"It doesn't bode well, given that February is traditionally a quiet time of year, that in the case of the three largest Canadian airports somewhere in the vicinity of four out of every 10 flights were delayed," said former Air Canada chief operating officer Duncan Dee.
