- An Air Canada ramp agent said this summer's travel chaos is "hands down the worst" he's ever seen.
- "Everybody's overworked," he told Insider, adding that some workers are on the verge of quitting.
- He said the airline faces many issues, including a security clearance backlog and new management.
An Air Canada ramp agent at the Toronto Pearson International Airport told Insider this summer's travel chaos is "hands down the worst" he's ever seen during the six years he's worked for the airline.
As thousands of flights are delayed and canceled across the country, airline and airport workers are left to pick up the pieces — all while dealing with the backlash of frustrated customers and a lack of support from management.
"Everybody's overworked," he said, describing one recent shift where he manually loaded 700 bags weighing over 40 pounds each onto five back-to-back flights. Some of the airline's workers are on the verge of quitting, and are "just waiting for that final push," he added.
The worker spoke on condition of anonymity in order to protect his career, but his employment with Air Canada has been verified by Insider.
Air Canada did not immediately respond to Insider's request to comment on backlogs, luggage issues, and employee concerns.
'It's nonstop. More than what we can actually handle individually'
From extreme heat to turbine-related safety risks, working on an airport tarmac is a dangerous job.
Recently, the ramp agent injured his back while lifting a container full of luggage — a common experience among his colleagues, he said. Many Air Canada workers who were let go during the pandemic switched to safer industries and never looked back, according to the agent.
"Essentially, if you were working at a coffee shop, you'd be making the same as working on the ramp," he said.
In order to address the worker shortage, Air Canada raised its hourly wage for part-time ramp agents from $13.60 to $16.60 in January, the employee told Insider. The typical part-time shift was previously four hours, but now he said he works a minimum of six hours, and that some part-time employees will work ten.
Apart from the job's physical dangers, the ramp agent said the biggest challenge right now is the sheer number of bags that ramp workers are tasked with loading and unloading as flights are delayed and layovers are missed.
At one point, the lost baggage overflow was so intense that the airline closed a tunnel between two gates and started storing luggage there, he said. While some of his colleagues have been working through their lunch breaks to make sure the bags get loaded onto the plane in time, others will "just leave because they have to go," he added.
"It's nonstop. More than what we can actually handle individually," he told Insider.
'The biggest misconception is just blaming one part of the industry'
On Saturday, 43% of flights departing from Toronto Pearson were delayed, and 3% were canceled, according to Flight Aware. Air Canada was ranked as the third worst-performing airline at the airport that day (behind Jazz and WestJet), with 59% of its flights delayed.
While it's easy for frustrated passengers to blame airlines for the thousands of flights canceled and delayed over the past few months, he said the underlying issues facing Air Canada aren't so simple.
"The biggest misconception is just blaming one part of the industry, like just the airlines or just the airport," the ramp agent said. "It's a mess on all sides."
One of the reasons Toronto Pearson is still struggling with staffing is due to a massive security clearance backlog, he said. In order to be cleared to work on the ramp, new hires must schedule an appointment with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA).
Right now, the virtual booking system shows zero availability through August — meaning even if Air Canada hired new workers today, they wouldn't be able to work for at least another month. The GTAA did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
Another change that's impacting operations is the airline's new management hires, most of which came from outside the company and "don't know what's going on," the ramp agent told Insider.
"Most of us working on the ramp want to make sure that the customers get their bags, but sometimes it's not the same sentiments all around. Management just looks at numbers," he said. "Instead of looking at numbers, I feel like they should actually be on ground level to see what's going on."
Are you an airline or airport worker? Have a tip? Contact this reporter from a non-work email address at [email protected]
Dit artikel is oorspronkelijk verschenen op z24.nl