The airline CEO blames "unprecedented and unexpected pressures on all aspects of the global aviation system"

Air Canada will cancel dozens of daily flights this summer as the airline struggles with a series of challenges amid increasing travel demand.

These changes will see Air Canada reduce its schedule by 77 round-trip flights – or 154 flights – on average, daily during July and August.

Michael Rousseau, the airline’s CEO, said in a statement Wednesday: “Unfortunately, things are not business as usual in our industry globally, and this is impacting our operations and our ability to serve travelers with our usual standards of care.”

He added, "The COVID-19 pandemic brought the global air transportation system to a halt in early 2020. Now, after more than two years, global travel is recovering, and people are flying at a rate unprecedented in our industry."

Rousseau said these factors are causing "unprecedented and unexpected pressures on all aspects of the global aviation system," resulting in flight delays and crowded spots at airports.

It also motivates the airline to make "meaningful cuts to its summer schedule" in order to reduce passenger numbers and flows to a level that we believe the air transportation system can accommodate.

Meanwhile, Peter Fitzpatrick, the airline’s spokesperson, said that before these flight reductions, Air Canada operated about 1000 flights per day.

He then added, "Three routes will be temporarily suspended between Montreal and Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Kelowna, and one from Toronto to Fort McMurray."

Most of the flights affected by the changes are from the Toronto and Montreal hubs.

He said: "These cuts will primarily affect evening and late-night flights by smaller aircraft on cross-border and domestic routes."

But he said, "International flights have not been affected, with some timing changes to reduce flying during peak times."

Rousseau, the airline CEO, said Air Canada has done its best to prepare for these challenges but must adjust its operations to current conditions.

He added: "This was not an easy decision, additional flight cancellations will negatively impact some customers."

"But doing so in advance allows affected customers time to make other arrangements in an organized way, rather than disrupting their travel shortly before or during their trip, with few alternatives available."

Rousseau offered his “sincere apologies” to customers for any delays they have faced or will face.

He said, "I also assure you that we clearly see the challenges at hand, we are taking action, and we are confident that we have a strategy to address them." "This is our company’s primary focus at all levels."

The majority of domestic flights at some of the country’s busiest airports have been delayed in recent days, according to analytics company Data Wazo.

Meanwhile, Data Wazo said 54 percent of flights to six major airports – Montreal, Calgary, Pearson and Billy Bishop in Toronto, Ottawa, and Halifax airports – were off schedule in the seven days between June 22 and 28.

About 38 percent of flights were delayed while 16 percent were canceled entirely.

Airlines and the federal government are scrambling to respond to endless delays, flight disruptions, and daily airport disruptions – especially at Pearson – an issue the airline industry blames on a shortage of federal security and customs officers.

Edited by: Dima Abu Khair