The airline industry, which has been suffering from airport paralysis due to delays in check-in at major airports since last May, is also reducing flights. For this reason, there is concern that the aviation crisis will continue for the time being.
The airline industry is reducing flight schedules during the summer vacation season as it can’t keep up with the surge in tourist demand.
Air Canada, the largest airline in Korea, announced on the 29th of June that it plans to suspend an average of 150 flights a day during the summer vacation season from July to August.
Compared to the 1,400~1,500 schedules a day, this means that about 10% of the flights are canceled.
However, Air Canada said most flights are to/from Toronto and Montreal airports, with no impact on international flights.
There are three routes to temporarily suspend operations: Montreal-Pittsburgh, Kelowna-Baltimore, and Toronto-Port McMurray.
“Unfortunately, the industry situation around the world is not what it used to be,” Air Canada CEO Michael Russo said in a statement. He continued, “It was not an easy decision,” and “we had no choice but to take measures to reduce the number of passengers to a level that the system can accommodate.”
Recently, complaints have been pouring in on social media, such as cases where passengers’ baggage was delayed or disappeared, and that they slept on the airport floor due to flight cancellations or delays.
This report also published on the 29th and 30th the story of the Monton family, who had to return to Toronto from Japan, a stopover, after waiting for 66 hours at the airport and in the plane without being able to arrive in Korea.
Toronto Korean Travel Agency said, “Last week, there were customers who wanted to change their schedule or get a refund due to cancellations and delays. “he said.
According to analysis company data ‘Wajo’, more than half of flights to Korea’s four major airports were delayed from June 22 to 28. Of the more than 4,800 flights, more than 44% were delayed and 8.5% were canceled.
Airlines once prioritized cutting ground workers to cut costs, but are now struggling to fill, promising better treatment.
The industry agrees that the main cause of the ‘air crisis’ is the lack of manpower to normalize to the pre-pandemic level in a situation where most of the workers have been laid off due to the corona crisis. The situation has changed so abruptly that it is difficult to handle the influx of passengers, so it is an opportunity for airlines to make money, but they are not able to fly the plane.
On the other hand, Federal Transport Minister Omar Algabra gave only an obvious answer to the situation, saying, “Airports and airlines are trying to solve the global aviation crisis.”