Toronto's Pearson Airport is so unbelievably bad that the New York Times is writing about it
There's bad, and then there's Toronto-Pearson International Airport, which has become so unbearable for travellers that one of the most prestigious newspapers in the world just highlighted its hellish passenger experience.
The New York Times published a piece titled "Turbulence on the Ground at Toronto's Pearson Airport" on Saturday, exposing its millions of subscribers in the United States and abroad to the Kafkaesque nightmare of understaffing and bureaucracy that has blocked the flow of Canada's busiest air travel hub to a trickle since spring.
Toronto’s Pearson Airport Struggles With Flight Delays - The New York Times https://t.co/LNqkNd6c0t
— David Ljunggren (@reutersLjungg) July 18, 2022
As many locals are already unfortunately all too aware, travellers passing through Pearson have suffered long lines, delays, cancellations, lost luggage, misplaced pets, and just about every inconvenience possible as the understaffed airport struggles through a summer travel wave.
This is the line to just get into the security lineup at Pearson. It’s several hundred people long. pic.twitter.com/qjRG9Bhteb
— Graeme Burk (@graemeburk) July 18, 2022
A passenger described their experience to the NYT in words that should come as zero surprise to travellers who have had the misfortune of flying in our out of Pearson in recent months, saying the airport is playing out "almost like a post-apocalyptic movie, just everybody for themselves."
Tennis star Nick Kyrgios and his girlfriend were recently forced to sleep on the floor of the airport, as not even famous athletes are spared from Pearson's specific flavour of travel misery.
And despite the federal government stepping in with plans to ease the backlogs and staffing shortages deemed responsible for the chaos, the pandemic is once again rearing its ugly head with a new wave, triggering the return of random mandatory testing at Pearson and other Canadian airports this Tuesday.
Pearson tells us to get here 3 hours before our flight. I was 4 hours early. And I’m at least 700 deep from the security line (which doesn’t even open til 4:30AM).
— Paige Dixon (@PeejDixon) July 18, 2022
Make it make sense 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/EoplArqs0H
Luckily, Toronto isn't the only airport singled out by the NYT, with similar travel headaches plaguing London's Heathrow Airport also shouted out in a separate article.
After two years of pandemic-enforced staycations, demand for travel has come roaring back in Europe, and airports are finding it impossible to keep up. London's Heathrow Airport made the rare decision to cap daily departing passengers until September. https://t.co/DTdm9WImwq
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 16, 2022
Though the Pearson Airport article could be a deterrent to U.S. travellers who may want to check out the city, the Times also published a July 14 article titled "Toronto Steps Into Summer," urging people to visit while they can, before an expected uptick in overseas travellers.
