Airline industry experts are warning that flight disruptions will be "unavoidable" during the upcoming holiday travel season due to persisting labour shortages. At a parliamentary committee hearing on 26OCT, industry representatives said retaining certain workers, such as pilots and air traffic controllers, are ongoing heading into the winter season.
Andrew Gibbons, vice-president of external affairs for WestJet, was at the committee meeting and said the industry continues to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re not out of the woods,” said Gibbons. “We’re still facing the effects of this crisis.”
Air Line Pilots Association Canada president Tim Perry told MPs that airlines have resisted increasing their pay, and overall not doing enough to retain pilots. Referring to the pilot shortage in this country as a labour shortage is an “oversimplification,” Perry said. He added that airlines are relying on temporary foreign workers to fill the employment gap. Pilots from other jurisdictions are not connected to their union and can "undermine" the collective bargaining process, said Perry.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1665769905662-0'); });
Canadian Air Traffic Control Association president Nick von Schoenberg told MPs there is a "desperate shortage" of air traffic controllers that has put "unacceptable demands" on workers as there are no longer enough controllers to meet safety requirements.
“Historical short-staffing has meant that the system has always relied on a high amount of overtime by controllers to function,” said von Schoenberg. According to von Schoenberg, the shortage existed before the pandemic and will not be fully addressed in time for summer 2023, but can be mitigated with additional support.
Von Schoenberg added that the pace of the recovery by the aviation sector has contributed to the air traffic controller shortage, which in turn is contributing to delays.
NAV Canada spokesman Brian Boudreau confirmed that staffing levels have been an issue at "some" airports and may have impacted service as a result.
The National Airlines Council of Canada did not provide a comment on pilot staffing levels. Representatives from both the council and Nav Canada are scheduled to attend a parliamentary meeting on labour shortages on 31OCT.
