A long-running air traffic controllers shortage is expected to slow air travel at Canadian airports this summer.
The industry has been short-staffed for decades. But when air travel tanked during the COVID-19 pandemic, employer Nav Canada encouraged many air traffic controllers to retire and reduced training for new recruits from 2020 to 2021.
The resulting shortage has hung over the industry ever since, according to Nick von Schoenberg, president of the Canadian Air Traffic Control Association, or CATCA, the controllers’ union.
“We didn’t have enough people, and then we lost people that we needed,” von Schoenberg said. “Now, we are naturally losing more people that we can’t stand to lose right now.”
He estimates the country is short approximately 350 air traffic controllers. CATCA currently represents nearly 2,000 workers.
Dave Frank, executive director of the BC Aviation Council, said the shortage means airport towers across Canada are often understaffed, causing airlines to reduce traffic and leading to cancellations and delays.
He’s expecting the bottleneck to peak when air travel ramps up this summer — and as thousands of visitors and athletes come to Toronto and Vancouver for the FIFA World Cup.
“We are going to have an absolute disaster during the summer when it comes to delays, not safety,” Frank said. “Throw FIFA into that mix and you’ve got a real problem.”
Nav Canada is the private company that trains and employs air traffic controllers. Maryam Amini, a spokesperson for the company, said in an email that addressing the shortage is a “top priority.”
“Staffing is a global challenge for air navigation service providers and Nav Canada has not been immune to this challenge,” Amini said.
Amini added that Nav Canada will expand its training program’s capacity to meet growing demand.
“We are executing aggressive recruitment campaigns and adapting our hiring and training models to align with evolving industry and market dynamics, as well as enhanced workforce scheduling, hiring experienced air traffic controllers, and leveraging temporary assignments,” Amini said.
CATCA’s von Schoenberg said the shortage has plagued the industry for years.
Historically, he said, the employer aimed to meet 80 per cent of each airport tower’s minimum staffing requirements and make up the shortfall by having controllers work overtime.
“Where we are now is a situation that’s been decades in the making,” he said.
The intensity of air traffic controller training also means it takes years to bring in new recruits, von Schoenberg said.
He estimated about 30 per cent of students actually graduate from Nav Canada’s training program, and then they need about three years to get enough training and experience to start working.
Several high-profile air travel delays thrust the shortage into the spotlight last year.
Last May, an Air Canada pilot vented about the shortage to passengers after a Vancouver-Montreal flight was delayed by 50 minutes.
