Airports are taking steps to avoid congestion over the upcoming holiday, with some limiting flights during peak hours to avoid the long queues and piles of luggage that plagued last summer.
The sudden rebound in demand for air travel during the holiday season last year, as the pandemic subsided in Europe and North America, caused chaos at some airports that were understaffed to handle the flood of passengers.
As more serene holiday travel is expected in Europe and North America, airlines and airports, which have learned hard lessons about holiday travel in 2022, are taking a more cautious approach as that global traffic is rebounding to roughly pre-pandemic levels.
Canada’s largest airport, for example, has set strict limits on the number of commercial flights that can arrive or depart at any given time during spring and summer peak hours, the airport operator told Archyde.com. Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) also said in an emailed statement that it will cap the number of passengers who can arrive internationally or depart to the United States through each terminal in any given hour.
“The GTAA has taken decisive action intended to smooth peak hour schedules for March Break and the upcoming summer season,” the authority said, but did not provide further details.
“These slot measures strike a balance between the commercial interests of airlines and the capabilities of entities across the airport ecosystem.”
Air Canada, the country’s largest carrier, said the GTAA’s limitations have been factored into its plans, while rival WestJet Airlines said the limitations “created hurdles and required adjustments when planning our cross-border and international flights”.
Despite significant planning and hiring this year, some airlines and airports are still struggling with staff shortages, including baggage handlers. And some are also facing industrial disputes, including strikes expected in the coming weeks for UK Border Force and disruption in France and Germany due to strike action.
Analysts say this is prompting some airlines to exercise restraint on flights despite rising demand.
“I would expect airlines to prioritize operational resilience over pushing networks to the limit, after last summer’s experience,” said Bernstein analyst Alexander Irving.
German carrier Lufthansa AG said it had cut summer flights by an unspecified amount due to staff shortages, including ground handlers, at Frankfurt and Munich airports.
“The adjustments to our schedules are an early precautionary measure to avoid short-term cancellations during the summer season,” said Lufthansa spokesman Andreas Bartels.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, a key hub for Air France-KLM SA, said on February 21 it would limit passenger numbers to 66,000 departing passengers per day during the May holiday season – a strong increase from levels imposed last year amid chaos and long queues, but still 8% below 2019 levels.
The airport is struggling with a shortage of staff and airlines have been asked to reduce ticket sales by around 5% on peak mornings during the spring break, said Stefan Donker, a Schiphol spokesman. .
In Britain, Heathrow Airport has confirmed that ad hoc flights will not be added to peak hours during the summer.
As airports have beefed up their workforces to avoid the crippling labor shortages that slashed capacity last summer, governments are also in a rush to add more border guards.
In Canada, the GTAA said it had already limited cross-border flights for several months to account for “staffing levels” at US and Canadian borders, as well as air traffic controllers.
Air traffic control manager NAV Canada said it currently employs about 1,900 air traffic controllers across Canada, but did not provide past data. An industry source said there were about 1,700 screeners in Canada at the end of 2021, up from about 2,000 before the pandemic.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Canada Border Services Agency were not immediately available to comment on staffing.
Aviation analyst James Halstead said airports like Heathrow have learned from the mistakes of last summer, which bodes well for this year’s season.
“Hopefully it will be better than last year,” said Halstead, managing partner at Aviation Strategy.
“It couldn’t be worse.”