Here's what the Toronto's Pearson airport is doing to end huge delays and lineups
Now that the entire world knows that Toronto's Pearson airport is an absolute mess of lineups, flight delays, lost baggage, missed connections and worse, the authority that runs the hub has had to step up and explain how, exactly, they're making improvements as people's travel nightmares continue.
The federal government, including Minister of Transport Oma Alghabra, has promised to address staffing and other issues impacting operations, and there have indeed been some recent changes that should help, as outlined by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) this week.
This new feature should make getting through Toronto's Pearson airport a bit easier https://t.co/kY65iMj1z5 #Toronto #PearsonAirport
— blogTO (@blogTO) August 3, 2022
New egates, advance customs declarations via the ArriveCAN app, and AI in the baggage department are among the updates that Pearson touted on Twitter on Thursday.
Passengers can also access wait times prior to departure online, and are being provided with ample tips and tricks on how to expedite the process both in-airport and via social media.
The authority has also promised that airlines are continuing with hiring efforts, and that Ottawa will be further streamlining the ArriveCAN app and other legacy public health requirements.
Today we are walking through the steps airport partners and government stakeholders have taken to improve passenger flow through Pearson, and what’s next as industry works collaboratively to improve the travel experience. pic.twitter.com/6aADRvxSHZ
— Toronto Pearson (@TorontoPearson) August 3, 2022
During a press conference on the topic on Friday, GTAA President and CEO Deborah Flint assured the public that things are getting better, with 83 per cent of passengers in the last week getting through security checkpoints within 15 minutes.
Staffing numbers are also up and flight delays are still common, but less frequent than they have been in recent weeks — 56 per cent delayed vs. 65 per cent in July.
Toronto Pearson has been deemed the worst international airport for delayed flights this summerhttps://t.co/HkH2XV05kr #Toronto #TorontoPearson
— blogTO (@blogTO) July 22, 2022
Fewer planes have also been left sitting on the tarmac waiting for customs backlogs to clear before they permit passengers to offload, a practice that had unfortunately become regular.
And, wait times at baggage carousels are also decreasing, if only by three minutes month-over-month, on average.
Though these numbers aren't anything dramatic, they are trending in the right direction, but likely not by the measure that any of us would have hoped for or expected at this point.
