Kelowna International Airport says lifting the vaccination order for domestic and outbound travelers and federally-employed workers should help with the staff crisis. It will help fill some of the staffing gaps at Kelowna International Airport. As of Monday, the federal government has suspended COVID-19 vaccination orders for domestic and outgoing travelers and federal employees, including those of the air force. “This is a big step in many ways,” said Phillip Elchitz, senior director of airport operations at YLW. “First of all, it really allows people who are restricted to air travel to start traveling, and that is very important financially for those people who have not had the opportunity to travel. “The other part is that it really allows the aviation industry now to start attracting more employees. “Workers who were either fired or simply could not be hired because they had not been vaccinated.” He says all sectors of the industry are short of staff, so this will help open the door to more potential employees. “We feel that we are really going to start mitigating the problems we are facing with the staff. “Which will result in faster check-in times, hopefully shorter security lines and a host of other issues related to aviation and airports.” Airports across the country have been plagued by long queues and delays in recent months. This is not only due to staff shortages, but also due to the sharp increase in the number of people flying now that the pandemic restrictions have been lifted. Elcitz emphasizes that air travelers must still arrive at the airport at least two hours before their flight and be prepared. “The other part that is so important is to understand what you can do at home. “Check in at home, on the internet, and when you get to the airport, use the kiosks, the self-service kiosks, to print your luggage tag. And then you get to a line that is actually much smaller, the luggage delivery line, from “What would you do if you had to check in when you’re here?”
