In the most fitting of ironies, on Sept. 14, at Saint John Airport, after the conclusion of the federal Liberal government caucus retreat, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra’s flight to Toronto was delayed by 55 minutes. That the delay was not caused by a government airport failure but by heavy fog isn’t the irony.
It was that the minister was personally experiencing a flight delay that he has tried to convince travellers was a figment of their imagination, in full view of several of his colleagues as well the media.
Since April, Canadian air travellers have experienced some of the world’s worst airport disruptions. Massive lines at both airport security and customs have become the rule, not the exception. These persistent federal service failures have, in turn, contributed to cascading operational challenges for airlines from misconnecting travellers, delayed bags, reduced preventative aircraft maintenance opportunities, and flight crew and other staffing shortages.
In response to these failures, Alghabra, decided that his best option is to redefine the meaning of “flight delay.” For several weeks, Alghabra has tweeted graphics that claimed “more flights are departing on time.” But, in the fine print, he reveals that his standard was “flights departing within an hour of scheduled departure.”
Airports and airlines are part of an industry with global standards. In the case of on time performance, or OTP, the definition is a flight operating within fifteen minutes of schedule. This definition, in turn, underpins airline schedules allowing for the smooth connection of travellers and bags.
By redefining OTP, Alghabra has unilaterally decided to lower Canada’s standards in order to meet his government’s failures. Think that your flight to Halifax is an hour late? Actually, the minister says it’s “on time.” And that 90-minute delay to Paris? Don’t sweat it. To Alghabra, it’s only 30 minutes late.
Ultimately, the minister’s Toronto flight arrived 61 minutes late. By his definition, it was just one minute behind schedule.
The absurdity of Canada’s senior-most transport official favouring this approach is obvious to any traveller or airline employee. Remarkably, the minister’s attempt to redefine standards doesn’t end with OTP.
In a press release touting the Government’s “successes,” Alghabra lists hiring 1,800 new Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) screeners as his top achievement. Lower on the list, however, Canadians discover that his department was “granting exemptions to allow new screening officers to work while training.”
So, in order to minimize the impact of CATSA’s failure to hire in time for the summer travel peak, Transport Canada redefined operational requirements allowing trainees to be deployed during the busiest travel period of the year.
DEE: Rather than solve airport problems, feds try to change definition of success | Edmonton Sun
It was that the minister was personally experiencing a flight delay that he has tried to convince travellers was a figment of their imagination, in full view of several of his colleagues as well the media.
Since April, Canadian air travellers have experienced some of the world’s worst airport disruptions. Massive lines at both airport security and customs have become the rule, not the exception. These persistent federal service failures have, in turn, contributed to cascading operational challenges for airlines from misconnecting travellers, delayed bags, reduced preventative aircraft maintenance opportunities, and flight crew and other staffing shortages.
In response to these failures, Alghabra, decided that his best option is to redefine the meaning of “flight delay.” For several weeks, Alghabra has tweeted graphics that claimed “more flights are departing on time.” But, in the fine print, he reveals that his standard was “flights departing within an hour of scheduled departure.”
Airports and airlines are part of an industry with global standards. In the case of on time performance, or OTP, the definition is a flight operating within fifteen minutes of schedule. This definition, in turn, underpins airline schedules allowing for the smooth connection of travellers and bags.
By redefining OTP, Alghabra has unilaterally decided to lower Canada’s standards in order to meet his government’s failures. Think that your flight to Halifax is an hour late? Actually, the minister says it’s “on time.” And that 90-minute delay to Paris? Don’t sweat it. To Alghabra, it’s only 30 minutes late.
Ultimately, the minister’s Toronto flight arrived 61 minutes late. By his definition, it was just one minute behind schedule.
The absurdity of Canada’s senior-most transport official favouring this approach is obvious to any traveller or airline employee. Remarkably, the minister’s attempt to redefine standards doesn’t end with OTP.
In a press release touting the Government’s “successes,” Alghabra lists hiring 1,800 new Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) screeners as his top achievement. Lower on the list, however, Canadians discover that his department was “granting exemptions to allow new screening officers to work while training.”
So, in order to minimize the impact of CATSA’s failure to hire in time for the summer travel peak, Transport Canada redefined operational requirements allowing trainees to be deployed during the busiest travel period of the year.
DEE: Rather than solve airport problems, feds try to change definition of success | Edmonton Sun
