Holiday travel angst lingers as airports, airlines gear up for holiday rush

Though the forecast looks favourable, airports and airlines are gearing up for the prospect of travel snarls as the holidays approach, ramping up staffing and flight schedules, readying updated facilities and doling out advice to passengers.

“To have a trip cancelled due to the airline is painful, but to have it happen at Christmas — when that is the only possible time to have the trip — is much more painful,” he says, referring to a holiday excursion to Mexico last year that was cancelled due to crew constraints.

This year, he’s slated to fly back to Thunder Bay, Ont., from Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula on Dec. 25. He and his family have built in some buffer time for their holiday plans in case of delay. But his experience lingers in his mind, along with other tales of travel nightmares from 12 months ago, when thousands of passengers saw their flights delayed or cancelled largely due to poor weather.

“I would always be nervous if I had something important,” he says.