Plan, prepare, protect: Surviving Canada’s air travel chaos

With nightmarish scenes of long lines, lost luggage, and last-minute flight cancellations at the nation’s busiest airport making headlines, travellers at Halifax Stanfield International Airport are hoping to steer clear of it all.

Damian Liengme is taking a direct flight to Calgary specifically to avoid flying through Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

“You just have to sort of avoid all the mayhem if you can,” he says. “Travel light, just bring what you need, it's easier that way. Then you don't have the hassles.”

Meanwhile, Amal Ahmad is heading straight into the travel storm, as he and a friend are flying to Toronto with carry-on bags only, and their fingers crossed.

“Just showing up a little bit earlier and just checking in on time and everything like that,” he says. “Doing what we can do because there’s not much we can do.”

Travel experts say coming to that realization is half the battle, and the rest, is up to good planning.

“Plan in advance, and that includes planning for contingencies,” says Stephen Olmstead of CAA Atlantic.

When it comes to your baggage, Olmstead says that means knowing what you've packed, and its value.

He recommends taking photos of both your luggage and their contents to document what's coming with you.

Olmstead also says it’s a good idea to work trip cancellation insurance into your budget or use a credit card with travel benefits.

“That can include the requirement to rent a car, or the requirement to replace items that you might have lost, really check the details for travel with your credit card,” he says.

On the day of your flight, preparation is also key.

“If you're flying domestically, we ask that you arrive two hours before your flight, if you're flying internationally, we recommend you arrive three hours before your flight,” says Leah Batstone, a spokesperson for Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

Batstone recommends checking in online before coming to the airport.

She also says travellers should know COVID-19 requirements for their destination, and have the ArriveCan app ready and filled out upon return to Canada.

Batstone says it’s also important for travellers to know what they are allowed to pack, both in their luggage and their carry-on bags.

“Because sometimes people going through security screening might forget about that liquid and that gel, and it can just add to the congestion a little bit,” she says.

But if the worst happens despite best-laid plans, air passenger advocate Gábor Lukács says it’s important for Canadian travellers to know their rights.

“Two things to remember, it is the airline's responsibility and their fault for what we are seeing now, and they owe you compensation," he says.

As the founder of the independent non-profit Air Passenger Rights, Lukács says if your bags don't arrive when you do, you’re entitled for reasonable compensation up to $2,300 under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations.

He says checked baggage is considered lost if the airline has either admitted it's gone, or if it’s been missing for more than 21 days.

Passengers are entitled to the same amount of compensation for out-of-pocket expenses, such as meals and essentials, due to delayed luggage, and Lukács recommends keeping receipts and records for your claim.

If your flight is delayed or cancelled for “reasons within the airline's control,” he says the airline should provide meals and accommodations.

The current travel chaos, he says, falls into that category.

“The issue is that the airlines knew and should have known that there are staffing issues and they have to take infrastructure limitations into account,” he adds.

Lukács says making a claim often takes time, and sometimes involves going to small claims court, but he says keeping records of what happened during your itinerary will help protect your rights in the long run.