Air Canada slashing several flights this summer amid staffing shortages, delays
Air Canada has announced that it will be slashing several flights from its schedule for July and August.
In a statement emailed to Daily Hive, Air Canada President and CEO Michael Rousseau shared that the carrier is making “meaningful reductions” to the schedule in order to reduce passenger volumes and bring operations to a flow that the air transport system can accommodate.
“The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world air transport system to a halt in early 2020,” Rousseau said.
“Now, after more than two years, global travel is resurgent and people are returning to flying at a rate never seen in our industry. Regrettably, things are not business as usual in our industry globally, and this is affecting our operations and our ability to serve you with our normal standards of care.”
Air travel has seen a massive rebound, with countries loosening their COVID-19 travel mandates and vacation-starved travellers making more plans than ever.
Rousseau says this surge in travel has created “unprecedented and unforeseen strains on all aspects of the global aviation system,” causing airport congestion, customer service problems, and flight delays. Meeting travellers’ demands is harder than it was before the pandemic.
Despite Air Canada’s careful planning and investments, “unavoidable challenges” have plagued the carrier’s operations.
The flight cancellations through July and August are aimed at stabilizing these operations.
“This was not an easy decision, as it will result in additional flight cancellations that will have a negative impact on some customers,” admits Rousseau, but assures that this early strategy will save customers the time and trouble of urgent rearrangements and disruptions during their journey.
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