WestJet 'proactively' removed flights from Pearson, anticipating summer travel snarls

As the Canadian travel industry continues to struggle with an unprecedented rebound in demand, WestJet Airlines Ltd. is flying 32 per cent fewer flights in and out of Toronto Pearson International Airport in July than it did pre-pandemic. CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said the Calgary-based WestJet made a series of proactive schedule reductions between March and May in anticipation of the logistical problems that have led to the long lineups, snarled connections and canceled flights experienced by travellers at Canadian airports in recent weeks. “I don't think there is another airline that serves Toronto that has reduced its schedule as much as we have,” von Hoensbroech said in an interview Thursday. “We have been quite proactive and thoughtful in dealing with our flight plans.” As Canada's largest airport, Toronto Pearson has been the epicenter of the travel-related woes affecting this country's air passengers since the lifting of COVID-related public health restrictions began. Airlines and airports that reduced staffing levels drastically when air travel ground to a near-halt at the start of the pandemic have found themselves unprepared for this spring's dramatic resurgence in demand. WestJet, for example, which hit a pandemic low of just 4,000 employees in 2020, has built its head count back up to 10,000, but that's still nearly 30 per cent lower than the 14,000 staffers it had in 2019. “We've hired more than 1,000 people over the last couple of months, and we are now hiring another 100 people just to deal with baggage challenges. We have increased our call centre staff by 20 per cent,” von Hoensbroech said. “We are doing whatever we can to get staff in, but we also know that across all industries, we are seeing a lack of staff. It's not just a WestJet problem, it's not just an aviation problem - it's a general economy problem.”<br/>