The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that the airline industry, NAV Canada and airports across the country say they are ready for whatever Mother Nature can throw at this year's holiday travel. The Globe's Eric Atkins writes that the test comes a year after snowstorms ruined the holiday plans of thousands of travellers in Canada and parts of the United States. Winter weather, staffing shortages, a lack of resources and even a frozen luggage belt conspired to ruin the holidays for many. Snow and ice can quickly bring an airport's operations to a crawl, but the people who run airlines and airports say they are applying the lessons learned in the rocky emergence from the pandemic shutdowns. Staffing levels have returned to normal. Communications have improved among the multiple entities that work at airports and with customers, they say. Still, nature has a way of spoiling travel plans, said Kevin O'Connor, Air Canada's senior vice-president of global airports and operations control. And the changing climate means extreme weather happens more frequently. Air Canada has reserve crews at the ready and has staged 14 or 15 aircraft at its hubs in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver as backups.