Air traffic controller shortage slows down Pearson
Dozens of weekend flights cancelled as control tower swamped by staffing woes
OTTAWA— A shortage of air traffic controllers at Pearson airport contributed to the cancellation of dozens of weekend flights and while new trainees are in the pipeline, it will be some time yet before they’re fully qualified to move metal.
Staffing woes in the control tower coupled with thunderstorms on Saturday slowed operations at Canada’s busiest airport and ultimately forced airlines to cancel flights, snarling travel plans for hundreds of passengers.
In an operational bulletin Sunday, Nav Canada, the private operator of the air traffic control system, warned that staffing issues would probably hit again during the day, reducing capacity at Pearson to 44 arrivals an hour, down from more than 56 in good weather conditions.
Peter Duffey, the president of the Canadian Air Traffic Control Association, the union representing controllers, said a number of factors combined to hit weekend operations.
For starters, controllers are constrained in how much overtime they can work over a 56-day period. Last weekend coincided with the end of that period, meaning many controllers were unable to work overtime shifts.
“We had controllers who were maxed out on overtime, simply could not work anymore,” Duffey said in an interview.
Bad weather also snarled flights and added to the workload for already short-staffed controllers.
“If we hadn’t had the weather on Saturday, it probably would have gone unnoticed. There would have been delays, flow control as we call it,” he said.
Michelle Bishop, director of government and public affairs for Nav Canada, said the Pearson tower has 42 of its 48 required controllers. Seven new controllers are in training and five of them are already partially qualified, she said.
She said delays caused by staffing shortages are “quite rare” and that weather is responsible for the ma- jority of tie-ups that hit passengers.
Duffey said the pace of operations at the airport — it handled 456,000 flights in 2016 — and the high cost of living in the Toronto area have been deterrents to attracting applicants to work at Pearson.
“Pearson used to have quiet times. There are no more quiet times there,” Duffey said. “We are short there a number of controllers and every once in a while that will rear its ugly head.”
He said the shortages are felt most acutely in the summer months — a peak time for air travel — when staff also take vacation.
Duffey said the tower needs10 additional controllers and while new staff will help, attrition and retirements will continue to make staffing an issue.
“Unfortunately you can’t manufacture a controller overnight,” he said, adding that the training process takes about two years. “They’re doing everything they can to fix it, but it’s going to take quite a while.”
The staffing issue has been a source of concern behind the scenes for the air carriers, the Star has learned.
Air Canada said Tuesday that it meets regularly with Nav Canada to “maintain the smooth running of our operations.”
“Staffing levels of course are part of these discussions and we are confident they are aware of our interest in ensuring that the system be properly resourced both now and in the future,” an airline spokesperson, Peter Fitzpatrick, said in an email.
In a statement, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority said Pearson is evolving into an “elite” airport, “which requires all airport stakeholders, including Nav Canada and other government agencies, to work together to ensure the resources are in place to support the growing demand for air travel.”