Airports, airlines rein in summer plans to avoid repeat of last year's chaos

Airports are taking steps to avoid gridlock during the upcoming holiday travel seasons, with some limiting flights during peak hours to avoid the long lines and luggage piles that marred last summer. The sudden rebound in air travel demand during last year's holiday season as the pandemic subsided in Europe and North America caused chaos at some airports which were short of staff to handle the flood of passengers. While smoother holiday travel is expected for Europe and North America, airlines and airports which learned tough lessons on holiday travel in 2022, are taking a more prudent approach as global traffic rebounds roughly to pre-pandemic levels. Canada's largest airport, for one, has set hard limits on the number of commercial flights that can arrive or depart in any given hour during peak spring and summer hours, the operator of Toronto Pearson International Airport told Reuters. The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) also said in an emailed statement it will cap the number of passengers that can arrive internationally, or depart to the United States through each terminal in a given hour. "The GTAA has taken decisive measures designed to flatten peak-hour schedules for the March break and the upcoming summer season," said the authority which did not give further details. "These slot measures strike a balance between airline commercial interests and the capabilities of the entities across the entire airport ecosystem." Air Canada, the country's largest carrier, said the GTAA's limits were accounted for in its plans, while rival WestJet Airlines said the limitations "have created hurdles and required adjustments when planning our transborder and international flying."<br/>