No Joy At Airports: Research

Paul Delahanty, www.blacklocks.ca
Frequent flyers are most likely to be dissatisfied with the airport experience, according to research by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. The agency said “target customers” – Canadians who fly more than 11 times in a two-year period – are likelier to grumble over security lineups.

“Frequent and business travellers continue to be less likely to provide higher satisfaction ratings, particularly around the speed of screening and overall satisfaction,” the authority concluded in a Passenger Satisfaction Survey 2014-2015. The quarterly reports were obtained through Access To Information.

Unhappy travellers said they believed security screening “doesn’t make any difference” and “focuses on the wrong concerns”, according to questionnaires completed by more than 5,600 passengers nationwide.

The most satisfied travellers were identified as women, tourists and the elderly: “Satisfaction levels tend to increase with age,” the research said. Only 6 percent of airport passengers described security screening as “quick and efficient”.

Satisfaction said the happiest travellers are in Halifax, Ottawa and Edmonton, at 87 percent. Montréal and Winnipeg had the lowest overall satisfaction rates at 68 percent.

“There continues to be a strong correlation between satisfaction and wait times,” the research said. “Satisfaction with the security screening experience decreases as perceived wait times approach or exceed passengers’ acceptable processing times.”

Reported wait times ranged from 12.5 minutes in Vancouver to 11.4 minutes in Winnipeg; 7.8 minutes in Edmonton; and 7.7 minutes in Ottawa. Among other findings:

• The most common items carried through security screening are cellphones, laptops, tablets, liquids and gels, cameras, medication and baby formula;
• The most common items seized at checkpoints are water, coffee, cosmetics and pocket knives.
• Passengers forced to surrender restricted items said they typically forgot about security rules. Five percent said they “hoped the officers would let me through with it”.

The research also found overwhelming indifference to the agency’s promotion of a mobile app with a searchable database updating travellers on wait times. Only 18 percent of airport passengers surveyed expressed an interest in the feature.

The Security Authority based its findings on surveys completed by travellers at Stanfield Airport in Halifax; Trudeau Airport in Montréal; Pearson International; Macdonald-Cartier International in Ottawa; Richardson International in Winnipeg; and airports in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.