Re: Toronto Pearson Airport Delays

[flopnfly]

Labour dispute halts  airport traffic
 
 
 Travellers departing Toronto's Pearson International Airport can expect significant delays reaching the terminal due to a protest by about 100 taxi drivers upset with licensing issues.  The situation has snarled the highways around Pearson Airport so badly that many desperate travellers are leaving their cars and heading for the terminal on foot.  
 
 "People were taking over an hour to get into the airport and taking over an hour to get out of the airport," said Connie Turner, spokeswoman for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.   II'm just concerned about the people getting out and walking," she said. "That's very unsafe."
 Ms. Turner said the protests have made it more difficult to handle some routine emergencies. She said that the airport handled a dozen medical emergencies yesterday, and rescue vehicles had to be brought in by unconventional routes to avoid the traffic backlog.

[Kimber19]

Hi Heather,
 Thank goodness most of my business travel is complete until the Fall. I watched the news last night and they indicated a flight from Italy arrived yesterday afternoon at 3:30 pm, by the time the passengers left the airport, i.e. out of the traffic jam and heading home it was 8:30 pm. No thanks. I think I understand why my husband never wants to pick me up at the airport!
 Kimber

[Freedom Ryder]

It sounds like a very dangerous situation that may boil over soon. People leaving their cars and walking is very dangerous but no one wants to miss their flight. The government better step in and settle the licencing issure before there is "ROAD RAGE" and someone ends up getting hurt or even worse killed. All it will take is a hot, humid day and the wrong mixture of people and all hell may break loose.
 
 Freedom Ryder  :7:  ..............

[Kimber19]

Freedom Ryder
 You are absolutely right!  In fact, our weather today is supposed to hit 30, so hopefully, it will be under control very, very soon.
 Kimber

[flopnfly]

Taxi  &  Limousine Drivers /  Airport Protest ~ an Update
 
 Wednesday, June 22, 2005
 
 A protest by taxi and limousine drivers serving Toronto's Pearson International Airport will continue, but without gridlock-causing pickets like one earlier this week that forced passengers to walk to the airport.  The Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) had been granted an injunction to stop the protest by the drivers who held up traffic on roads leading to Pearson.  The Airport Taxi-cab Alliance had planned to appeal the injunction, but a deal was reached before the two parties appeared in a Brampton court.
 
 The lawyer representing the drivers, says the agreement allows the drivers to protest in designated areas at each terminal and the airport authority's offices, but without blocking highways leading to the airport.  But, he warns, the drivers have not ruled out appealing the injunction in the future if they feel the airport authority is not showing goodwill in negotiations.
 
 The GTAA and Air Canada sought the injunction, citing concern for the safety of passengers.
 
 The drivers want the authority to grant new limo licences on the basis of seniority.  Under the current arrangement, the authority issues licences to companies that submit proposals.
 
 The protest earlier this week created a traffic gridlock around Pearson, forcing many travellers to sprint to the terminals to catch their flights.   A 24-hour injunction granted Tuesday meant drivers could not block highways leading into the airport.  The drivers had threatened to block airport entrances again if they succeeded in overturning the injunction, which their lawyer refused to rule out in the future.

[Freedom Ryder]

Well all I can say is thank goodness I am not planning a trip right now. As a strong union activist I would not want to cross their picket line or protest line (What ever you want to call it). I may not always totally agree on how the pickets are set up but it really important to workers to have some "SOLIDARITY" amongst workers in different fields. It is a shame that the government forces workers to take issues into their own hands and slow down traffic to try to get their voices heard. I believe that an "INFORMATION PICKET" (handing out phamplets stateing the problems the workers are facing and a Government e-mail address for the public to mail their concerns to ) would have been a better way to approach the situation and get the public on their side. Personally I feel making people miss their flights and forcing people to get out of their cars and walk does nothing more than p**s people off. The government needs to resolve the licencing issue and fast.
 
 Freedom Ryder   :7:   ...........