Chaos at airports: ‘It’s a federal problem,’ says Poilievre

The hustle and bustle that marked the holiday season at airports across the country is a sign of a problem that goes beyond the vagaries of the weather, and the Trudeau government must take responsibility for it, believes Pierre Poilievre.

• Read also: First day of vacation on an airport bench

• Read also: Chaos at Sunwing: an “unacceptable” situation, according to Minister Alghabra

«Il [Justin Trudeau] blame the snow right now, but there was no snow last summer, and there was chaos in the airports at the time, ”said the Conservative leader during a press briefing in Ottawa , Friday.

If the Montreal airport had its share of delays and cancellations in the days surrounding Christmas, it was at Toronto’s Pearson airport, the largest in the country, that things hit a low point.

Still Thursday, Canadian media at Pearson reported that the arrivals floor was still strewn with suitcases that had not reached their owner, probably already arrived at their destination.

In the middle of the week, Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra described the situation as “unacceptable”. The minister hit on the airlines, particularly Sunwing, because they “must also keep passengers informed when it comes to providing a service for which they have been paid”.

For Pierre Poilievre, the Trudeau government is better at “finding excuses than solutions”.

“Our airports are federally regulated, their boards of directors are partly federally appointed, and they operate on federal land. Our airlines are federally regulated. This is a federal problem,” he insisted.

Canadians are patient with weather disruptions, but they expect their airlines to keep them informed and manage these disruptions accordingly. I am very concerned regarding the current situation with Sunwing.

– Omar Alghabra (@OmarAlghabra) December 28, 2022

The latter is calling on Ottawa to speed up the processing of complaints filed with the Canadian Transportation Agency (OTC). The federal agency estimated that more than 30,000 complaints were awaiting processing as of November 20, before the Christmas snowstorm.

The Conservative leader also calls for “stricter and clearer rules” to be established to govern the payment of compensation to airline customers.
But it’s not enough.

“We need to understand why our airlines, and even more importantly our airports, are in such a sorry state,” he said.

“It’s Justin Trudeau’s job to bring stability and service back to our airline industry.”

In an email Friday followingnoon, the Ministry of Transport wanted to set the record straight.

“We understand how frustrating these delays and cancellations have been for travelers this holiday season. What many travelers have experienced is completely unacceptable,” wrote spokesperson Valérie Glazer.

The latter recalls that it was the Trudeau government that established the Air Passenger Protection Regulations in 2019, before strengthening them last fall following a catastrophic summer.

The new rules included in the Regulations notably oblige airlines to provide a refund or a free reservation if the company cannot secure a new reservation within 48 hours of the delay. In the case of refunds, companies now have a 30-day period.