While Canada’s air travel industry experienced a significant drop in traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic, travellers began to appear in greater numbers in the spring of 2022. It is in this context that the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (the Committee) undertook a study on ways to reduce red tape and costs for Canadian airports in order to make air travel more affordable and accessible.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed flaws in the user-pays system, as the lack of passengers caused airport, airline and air service provider revenues to plummet. Similarly, some witnesses argued that the costs on various stakeholders are too high. They pointed to rent collected by the federal government from major airports, airport improvement fees, navigation fees, fuel costs, security fees, and so on.

Air travel is critical to connecting remote and Northern communities and should not be considered a luxury. While most witnesses were appreciative of the various federal funding programs to support air travel, they said this funding was insufficient to ensure the viability of Canada’s entire air network. Some witnesses added that new regulatory requirements, such as those related to crew hours, hampered their operations.

Following air traffic resumption in the spring of 2022, significant delays and wait times at major Canadian airports have frustrated travellers.  Witnesses gave a variety of reasons for the delays, including widespread labour shortages; delays abroad; processing times for various documents, such as restricted area identity cards; delays in pilot licensing and certification; and the implementation of public health measures, including testing on arrival for international travellers.

The study highlighted the imbalance between demand for flights and network capacity. Overall, witnesses agreed that more cooperation is needed among the various stakeholders to address the wait times observed in the spring and summer of 2022 and provide a better experience for travellers passing through Canadian airports.

The Committee acknowledges that the challenges and issues experienced during the 2022-23 winter holiday season took place following the testimony heard during this study. As such, these issues will be addressed in a forthcoming report.