OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada is suspending random COVID-19 testing at all its airports for the rest of June to ease the long wait times that travelers have encountered in recent weeks, a government source said on Friday.
The random testing will be discontinued from Saturday and will resume “off-site” on July 1, the source said.
Random testing was blamed by some industry officials for lengthening already long wait times at airports. Toronto’s Pearson airport has had planes stuck at gates and hours-long security lines because of staffing shortages.
The country’s largest carrier Air Canada canceled almost 10% of flights from Pearson during the first week of June, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company.
Airlines around the globe that faced a travel slump during the pandemic have been counting on a strong summer. The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) has hired 865 screening officers since April to help manage an increase in travelers.
Canada’s opposition Conservative Party has said Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has been slow to act to remedy airport congestion.
(Reporting by Steve SchererEditing by Chris Reese and Grant McCool)
