NAV CANADA reported an approximately 85% reduction in flight delays attributable to its operations at Canada’s four busiest airports—Toronto Pearson, Montréal-Trudeau, Calgary International, and Vancouver International—from May 1 through August 31, 2026. The proportion of scheduled flights affected by staffing or equipment-related traffic management initiatives dropped from 1.54% in 2025 to 0.24% in 2026 across these airports.
Significant Airport-Specific Delay Improvements
Vancouver International Airport registered the largest absolute improvement in delay impacts, decreasing from 4.42% of flights affected in 2025 to 0.64% in 2026. Calgary International Airport demonstrated the greatest proportional reduction, with impacted flights falling from 1.16% to 0.05% year-over-year. All four airports
experienced fewer traffic management delays related to NAV CANADA staffing, with a 65% overall reduction compared to 2025.
Flight Volumes Rise Despite Improved Performance
Total flights handled by Toronto Pearson, Montréal-Trudeau, Calgary, and Vancouver International airports increased by 0.9%, from 391,245 in the May–August 2025 period to 394,919 in 2026. This indicates that improved delay metrics were not driven by reduced air traffic demand over the summer.
Operational Measures Boost Summer Readiness
NAV CANADA’s summer 2026 readiness plan included increasing frontline staffing, incentivizing schedules, and temporarily bringing retired controllers back into operation. The organization also deployed technology upgrades such as Arrival Manager systems at all Area Control Centres. Since 2023, more
than 600 air traffic services professionals have qualified through NAV CANADA’s training schools, which are operating at record capacity.
Staffing Gap Narrows but Remains
Despite progress, the controller staffing shortfall decreased from approximately 200 below target in spring 2026 to around 170 below target by the end of August. NAV CANADA continues to focus on training and onboarding new controllers to address this gap amid sustained operational demands, including peak summer traffic and convective weather conditions.
Marie-Pier Berman, Vice President and Chief of Operations at NAV CANADA, stated, “Our teams at Canada’s major airports delivered approximately 85 per cent fewer NAV CANADA-attributable delays compared to
the same period last year. NAV CANADA’s air traffic controllers, flight service specialists and support teams across the country stepped up, shift after shift, and the credit is theirs.” Berman emphasized that readiness involves having the right people, processes, and technology to manage challenges safely. She added, “A season like this one is not a finish line. The staffing rebuild continues, the fall and winter bring their own demands, and readiness has never meant promising that no disruption will ever occur. This summer, our people showed what that looks like.”
