Flight delays at 麻豆传媒映画International Airport due to a shortage of air traffic controllers and other resources at Nav Canada were having a knock-on effect in Victoria on Wednesday.
Three Air Canada flights from Victoria International Airport to 麻豆传媒映画were cancelled, including scheduled departures at 2:45, 7:15 and 9:05 p.m. Several other flights from various airlines faced long delays, some more than two and half hours, according to flight status data on the Victoria Airport Authority website.
Arrivals at Victoria were also affected. Three Air Canada flights from 麻豆传媒映画were cancelled and others faced delays.
The corporation that provides air traffic control for Canada’s airports warned travellers at Vancouver’s airport of flight delays over what it called “resource constraints,” including not enough air traffic controllers.
In a statement, Nav Canada spokesman Jonathan Bagg said the delays were due to personnel shortages at 麻豆传媒映画airport’s air traffic control tower. A traffic management initiative was implemented, which reduces air traffic to safe levels, acknowledging lower staffing. There was no indication of when the directive would end.
Air traffic at 麻豆传媒映画was also reduced on Monday and Tuesday.
“Ensuring that we have the staffing required to provide safe, efficient air navigation services remains a top priority for Nav Canada, and we continue to take the steps needed to support service continuity across the country,” Bagg said.
Nick von Schoenberg, president and CEO of the Canadian Air Traffic Control Association, said the shortage of air traffic controllers is a Canada-wide issue but is particularly acute at 麻豆传媒映画due to higher standards to qualify than at other airports.
He said that while most air traffic control towers require staff to undergo 90 to 120 training days after transferring, YVR requires those transferring to the airport to undergo 150 training days to re-certify.
Von Schoenberg said at least several hundred more air traffic controllers are needed across the country. The root of the staffing crisis stems from the cutting of 720 positions by Nav Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
Passengers flying out of Victoria with connecting flights through 麻豆传媒映画were being advised to check flight updates before heading to the airport, said Elizabeth Brown, chief executive of the Victoria Airport Authority.
“It could be the airlines are managing their systems the best they can with some of the challenges they have at YVR,” she said.
Brown said Victoria’s airport has not been officially advised by Nav Canada or any of the airlines of specific cancellations or delays.
For information about Victoria departures and arrivals, go to yyj.ca/flights-info/flight-status/
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