CATSA analyzes its internal and external operating environment to plan strategically and innovate to deliver its mandate.
Environmental Scan
CATSA’s environmental scan details the key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges (SWOC) that the organization is facing now and is expected to encounter over the planning period.
Summary
Strengths
- Highly qualified and dedicated employees
- Credibility and unique world-class expertise in security screening
- Planning, preparing, adjusting, and recovering in response to the evolving aviation industry
- Culture of innovation
Weaknesses
- Human resources capacity constraints
- Dependence on the supply chain for key components of service delivery
- Absence of sustainable long-term funding
Opportunities
- Using innovative technology, processes, and artificial intelligence to enhance security effectiveness, maximize operational efficiencies and improve the client experience
- Strengthened connection and collaboration within the aviation ecosystem in support of shared goals and Government of Canada priorities
- Achieving service excellence
Challenges
- Influence over the domestic and international regulatory environment
- Obtaining adequate physical space at airports to execute and support operations
- Attracting and maintaining a skilled workforce
Collaboration
CATSA works closely with screening contractors, maintenance service providers, airport authorities, air carriers, industry associations, and local law enforcement agencies. It also collaborates with a number of federal departments and agencies, most notably its regulator Transport Canada, the Canadian Transportation Agency, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. CATSA achieves a high level of security effectiveness and client satisfaction, and meets common objectives through proactive partnerships.
CATSA also engages with several international partners to share trial results, lessons learned, and best practices to advance industry harmonization and innovation. These partners include but are not limited to the United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other foreign airport screening agencies; the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC); and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
CATSA’s primary objectives in its collaboration with partners are improving performance, enhancing data sharing, and elevating the client experience.
Human Resources Management
CATSA relies on a highly skilled and diverse workforce at its headquarters and regional offices. The organization’s workforce declined between 2012/13 and 2014/15, and remained stagnant until 2023/24.
In recognition of growing demands and passenger volumes, the Government of Canada approved an augmentation of CATSA’s workforce in 2023. The organization increased its workforce by 84 FTEs over three years, with all new resources set to be in place by 2025/26. These additional FTEs support new technology deployments, requirements for enhanced screening, accessibility initiatives, training of screening officers, oversight, improved wait-time service levels, cybersecurity, and increased expectations related to Government of Canada priorities. It is important to note that even with the addition of these new resources, CATSA will still have fewer FTEs than in 2010/11 (532 in 2025/26 vs 538 in 2010/11), despite an expanding mandate and a 38% increase in passenger volumes between 2010/11 and 2023/24.
The following table illustrates the planned distribution of CATSA’s human resources. Regional employees are deployed at all Class 1 airports, where they execute the overall planning, delivery and oversight of screening operations.
| Year | FTEs | Executives | Headquarters | Regions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 507 | 5 | 290 | 153 |
| 2024/25 | 522 | 51 | 324 | 193 |
| 2025/26 | 532 | 5 | 334 | 193 |
| 2026/27 | 532 | 5 | 334 | 193 |
| 2027/28 | 532 | 5 | 334 | 193 |
| 2028/29 | 532 | 5 | 334 | 193 |
| 2029/30 | 532 | 5 | 334 | 193 |
1 Excludes the Vice-President, People, Culture, and Experience which is a fixed-term resource See Appendix B: Corporate Governance for more information.
CATSA began an organization design review in 2024/25 to ensure alignment between CATSA’s organizational structure and its Strategic Plan. The findings from this review, along with workforce planning, may result in future requests for additional FTE resources.
Screening Operations
CATSA’s service delivery model for screening services entails the contracted engagement of third-party screening contractors to provide certified and dedicated screening officers to carry out screening at the 89 designated airports across Canada.
CATSA completed the transition to new airport screening services agreements, effective April 1, 2024. The organization established a Transition Steering Committee to facilitate the implementation of the new service agreements and subsequently ensured seamless operations throughout the transition.
The following table illustrates the screening contractors engaged in each region.
| Region | Screening contractor |
|---|---|
| Pacific | Paladin Airport Security Services Ltd. |
| Prairies | Paladin Airport Security Services Ltd. |
| Central | GardaWorld Security Screening Inc. |
| East | GardaWorld Security Screening Inc. |
CATSA implemented its enhanced wait-time service level target in 2024/25, where 95% of passengers wait less than 15 minutes to be screened (95/15). Assuming adequate funding, CATSA aims to maintain the annual wait-time service level target and will identify opportunities for technological and process innovations that support its wait-time objectives. The organization will re-examine processes and innovate in areas including training development and capacity, program delivery, and maximizing flexibility while respecting the broader regulatory framework and aviation security environment.
Screening Technology
A modern, reliable, and flexible screening and information technology infrastructure is critical to the success of CATSA’s mission from both a security and client experience perspective. CATSA will monitor the performance of its third-party maintenance providers to maximize screening equipment availability and mitigate impacts to overall wait times.
Passenger Traffic
CATSA’s passenger traffic forecasts predict increased growth over the planning period, as depicted in the following table.
| Year | Screened passenger traffic (in millions) |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 69.1 |
| 2024/25 | 70.5 |
| 2025/26 | 74.4 |
| 2026/27 | 77.9 |
| 2027/28 | 81.1 |
| 2028/29 | 83.9 |
| 2029/30 | 86.3 |
CATSA’s projected passenger growth rate2 is slightly below the global average, standing at approximately 7%, while the global average is 12% year-over-year. However, CATSA’s projected passenger growth rate is consistent with the United States TSA. Asia Pacific has the highest projected growth rate, at 17% year-over-year3 .
2 Comparing January to August 2023 and January to August 2024.
3 Based on the International Air Transport Association’s updated June 2024 Global Outlook.
Alignment with Government of Canada Priorities
CATSA actively supports the Government of Canada’s broader social, economic, environmental and general governance agenda wherever applicable and possible. See Appendix H for more information.
Response to External Audits
Two significant audits have provided a focus for CATSA’s efforts towards improvement:
- The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) Special Examination is in the reporting phase, with the final report to be tabled in Parliament in 2025.
- The OAG’s Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities report (2023) focused on whether CATSA identified and removed existing barriers and worked towards preventing transportation barriers for persons with disabilities. CATSA completed all action items identified in this report in 2024/25.