Tips on how to survive summer travel chaos in Canadian airports
Global News
A Canadian travel expert offers suggestions on how to pack like a pro and keep track of your luggage.
It’s no secret that air travel right now is a bit of a hassle. More than a hassle, actually. It’s a full-blown gong show.
Long lines, cancelled flights and lost luggage have plagued many Canadian passengers attempting to travel in the wake of easing COVID-19 restrictions, and some are finding their vacations bookended by pure airport hell.
Air Canada and Toronto’s Pearson airport again claimed the top spots for flight delays during the first week in July, marking at least four days in a row when the country’s biggest airline has placed No. 1 for delays of any large carrier worldwide.
Meanwhile, Pearson, Air Canada’s main hub, was the sole airport across the globe to see more than half of flight departures delayed.
There have also been stories of passengers losing their luggage for upwards of five days, while across the pond, airports have asked travellers to pack a “plane picnic” as staffing shortages leave some U.K. catering services struggling to keep up with demand.
Perhaps the biggest sign of the times came late last month when Air Canada announced it would make “meaningful reductions” to its flight schedule in July and August to help cope with ongoing flight delays and airport congestion.
With so many of us champing at the bit to get away after two-plus years of being sequestered due to pandemic travel restrictions, what’s the best way to survive the summer air travel chaos that’s afflicted Canadian airports and beyond?
Global News spoke with Christina Guan, a Canadian travel expert based out of Vancouver, to pick her brain about how to pack like a pro and dodge as much of the travel-related stress as possible this summer holiday season.