Transport Minister Omar Al-Ghabra is scheduled to testify before the Transport Committee of the House of Commons this afternoon regarding the ongoing delays at airports and flight cancellations.

While Al-Ghabra's office said the situation has improved in recent weeks, Canadian airports have experienced significant delays and cancellations - so much so that Pearson Airport was named the worst airport in the world due to flight delays.

Members of the Transport Committee unanimously voted earlier this month to call the minister to testify, a proposal from Conservative MP and transport critic Melissa Lantsman.

She said, "Throughout this, our peak travel season, the government has refused to listen to advocates, frontline workers, and Canadians to make reasonable improvements to our country's airports and cancel their ongoing actions, leading to further delays."

In an email to CTVNews.ca on August 5. "There has been no meaningful improvement and our reputation continues to be tarnished worldwide."

The head of the Aviation Management program at McGill University told Canadian Press earlier this month that with increasing travel demand, airlines have packed their flight schedules without considering staff shortages or pressure on airports.

John Gradek, who is also a former executive at Air Canada, said part of the problem is that airports do not have the authority to tell airlines to book fewer flights, despite lacking the infrastructure to handle this volume.

Some blamed the delays on COVID-19 restrictions - including mandatory random testing of fully vaccinated international arrivals and issues related to the ArriveCAN app and called on the federal government to drop the travel rules.

In July, the federal government moved random COVID-19 tests offsite from airports to help ease delays and Al-Ghabra said he is working closely with industry partners to increase staffing and resolve the issue.

The Transport Committee will also hear witnesses from the Department of Transport, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, the Canada Border Services Agency, and the Public Health Agency of Canada on Friday.