Service resumption at Air Canada | Why up to 10 days before returning to normal?

Will my flight take off? Travelers have not finished asking this question despite the end of the 10,000 Air Canada on -board strike. Other cancellations are expected since the return to normal may take up to ten days. Why so much time? There are many reasons.

For obvious security reasons, the air industry is strongly regulated. You cannot return to the sky simultaneously 249 devices which are nailed to the ground.

Read the article “The return to normal could take up to 10 days”

“It is necessary to fulfill 60 conditions (maintenance, security, available staff) for an airplane to take off on time,” emphasizes the vice-president of Air Canada communications, Christophe Hennebelle. And it is a system that is not made to be arrested. ».

The carrier’s fleet with the maple leaf found itself nailed to the ground for three full days when the on -board agents, represented by the Canadian Public Service Syndicate (SCFP), opted for the ranging last Saturday.

It should be remembered, however, that Air Canada had already started to lift your foot before. Since the negotiations trampled, the most important air carrier in the country had already started to cancel thefts in anticipation of a labor conflict. Result: devices have for example been repatriated from abroad, like teams of navigating staff.

This aspect of the restart is particularly complex in the short term.

For the exercise, let’s take a fictitious exercise. A large carrier device cannot go back and forth with the same crew. The rules that supervise fatigue management in the industry require rest periods.

At their destination, other pilots and on -board agents take over, allowing the plane to turn back with other passengers. But here it is: in many cases, this machine is far from being both oiled as before due to the labor conflict.

“You can’t send a device to Sydney without having the crew to bring it back,” explains the aviation expert and lecturer at McGill John Gradek University. For a large number of destinations, Air Canada must therefore find these crews and make sure to send them where there are needs. It takes time. »»

To multiply

Europe, Tokyo (Japan), Delhi (India), Shanghai (China) … with an international network of 190 destinations spread over six continents, the redeployment of the succession crew abroad will not be in a snap. We will have to repeat the exercise many times. By what the situation is going back to normal, several travelers will have to continue to take their pain in patience.

“Air Canada is an airline that is now going everywhere,” observes Robert Kokonis, president of the Airtrav consulting company, established in Toronto. She could not leave crews and planes scattered all over the world. It will therefore take time to restart everything. »»

Added to this is the management of personnel which performs ground tasks – baggships and ramp agents for example – as well as maintenance management. Even if he is nailed to the ground and he has not stolen, an airplane must be inspected before taking off.

“It is a carefully coordinated symphony for a single flight,” recalls Mr. Kokonis. We must therefore repeat the operation [plus de 1000 fois] per day. »»

However, the stake is less delicate here since the employees concerned were not on strike, but at work.

Catching up or returning to normal?

It remains to be seen if the next few days will also be accompanied by a catch -up of the flights canceled for a week. The CIRIUM air data firm has identified some 3115 cancellations since August 12. More than 500,000 travelers were affected by these disturbances, according to the airline.

How long will it take to fill the accumulated delay? Air Canada and the experts interviewed by The press do not see things of the same eye.

“We can hope that this is the case [dans sept à dix jours]says the spokesman for the carrier. There are many passengers who have moved their flights. There are more seats that will be available. »»

MM. Gradek and Kokonis believe that it will take more time to accommodate travelers who always hit foot. Experts recall that August coincides with the heart of the summer season – the busiest of the year in the airline industry.

The room for maneuver is thin.

“If all of this had arrived at the end of September or at the beginning of October, Air Canada would probably have reserve planes at its disposal,” said Gradek. Currently, almost all aircraft are used and the capacity available at other carriers remains extremely limited.

Mr. Kokonis abounds in the same direction. In his opinion, he could still flow “a few weeks” so that all travelers “find themselves where they should be”.