Canada and industry partners continue to make progress on reducing traveller wait times at Canada's airports 8 October

The Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, the Minister of Public Safety, the Honourable Marco Mendicino, and the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, issued this update today on the continued action and progress being made by the Government of Canada and industry partners to reduce traveller wait times and delays across Canadian airports.

Latest data

Flight completions

• For the week of September 26 to October 2, 2022, 98 percent of flights planned for Canada's top four airports were completed (i.e., not cancelled); an improvement from 95 percent for the first week of July.
• This percentage is very close to the week of September 30 to October 6, 2019, when 99 percent of flights for the top four airports were completed.

On-time performance

• From September 26 to October 2, 2022, over 91 percent of flights from the top four airports left on time, or within one hour of their scheduled departure.
• This is a significant improvement from under 75 percent for the first week of July and is approaching the pre-pandemic levels in September 2019 where 95 percent of flights were on time, or within an hour of scheduled departure.

Holding of aircraft at Toronto Pearson International Airport

• The number of arriving international flights being held on the tarmac at Toronto-Pearson International Airport has decreased dramatically since May. For the week of September 19-25, 2022, no international flight arrivals were held on the tarmac, as compared to the peak of 373 during the first week of May.

Passenger security screening wait times

• From September 26 to October 2, 2022, 91 percent of passengers at the four largest airports were screened within 15 minutes by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA); an improvement from 79 percent during the first week of July 2022.
  • Toronto-Pearson International Airport: 95 percent (98 percent in 2019)
  • Vancouver International Airport: 91 percent (94 percent in 2019)
  • Montréal-Trudeau International Airport: 87 percent (96 percent in 2019)
  • Calgary International Airport: 88 percent (87 percent in 2019)

Best practices for travelling this long-weekend

Before you go

• Familiarize yourself with the latest carry-on and checked baggage size and weight restrictions
  • Use CATSA's What Can I Bring? tool to determine if an item can be packed in your carry-on or checked baggage.
• View the details of your itinerary. Verify the date and time of your flight, as well as your assigned seat.
• Make sure you have the correct travel documents.
• Check in for your flight anytime within 24 hours of departure (online, with your mobile device, or at the airport).
• Arrive at the airport well in advance of your flight so you have plenty of time to check in, drop off your bags, and go through security screening. Many airlines advise passengers to arrive two hours in advance for domestic flights and three hours for U.S. and international flights.
• Check your flight status online or sign-up to receive flight notifications from your airline.

Advance CBSA Declaration

• Travellers are encouraged to use Advance CBSA Declaration to submit their customs and immigration declaration to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) information through ArriveCAN to save time upon arrival at the airport. This optional feature is currently available to travellers arriving at Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver, or Montréal-Trudeau international airports.

Increasing staffing for security screening and collaborating with industry partners

• Since April, CATSA has hired 1,975 screening officers across Canada. Efforts to increase screening officer staff levels at all airports continue.
• The Minister of Transport and Transport Canada continue to meet regularly with airports and airlines alongside CATSA, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and NAV CANADA to find solutions and address congestion.