Camera operator burns Toronto Pearson Airport in the funniest way

A Tuesday press conference at Toronto Pearson International Airport has turned into a high-profile public relations gaffe, all thanks to some creative work by a news camera operator.

Deborah Flint, CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, was in the middle of telling assembled media that Pearson has "seen almost a doubling in terms of improvement on on-time performance since last year," when camera operator Matthew Reid decided to take some creative license, tilting his camera up to show an arrival board covered in delayed and cancelled flights.

😂 very tone deaf press conferences, Deborah Flint CEO Toronto Airport Authority, claims huge improvements in on time flights, the camera pans up to the flight board directly over head where the vast majority of flights are late or cancelled! Too funny! pic.twitter.com/XknwRGZheL

— Rand Ridley 🇨🇦 (@Notdonejr) July 18, 2023

A clip of the CTV News broadcast has gone viral, with two tweets showing the same video collectively sharing over 2.7 million views as of Wednesday morning. Viewers are reacting with shock and delight to the colossal burn, with one calling it a "murder on live television."

Wow, I've never seen a complete, uncensored murder on live television.

— Punished J-Dubs (@punishedjdubs) July 18, 2023

One can only wonder why the decision was made to hold this presser directly in front of a board that could be used as evidence to refute the airport's very claims.

He fact checked, rebutted, and won the debate: All without saying a single word.

GENIUS.

— Liam (@StarshipMine) July 19, 2023

Pearson Airport's social media team made an attempt at damage control, blaming the delays on other airports. However, several commenters, including an airline pilot, shifted responsibility right back onto Pearson by claiming that these delayed flights are returns that originated in Toronto.

Except most of those arrivals are delayed arriving into YYZ because they were delayed departing from YYZ earlier!

— ✈ Stephen (@flying_steve) July 19, 2023

Many took the opportunity to fire shots at the airport, which has been in the hot seat since a disastrous spring and summer 2022 travel season that saw the airport clogged with lines and plagued with delays and cancellations.

This tweet is taking off better than the airplanes leaving your airport.

— Andrew Schwan (@aschwan41) July 18, 2023

During the presser, Flint told media that she is "proud of the exceptional teamwork demonstrated by the Toronto Pearson team leading up to the summer season," however, she might not be as pleased with her team the day after, as negative responses continue to pour in.

Doubling in terms of improvement is a hilarious claim, like a second derivative or something.
They haven't doubled the number that are on-time, they've doubled the improvement. If the improvement last year was one more on-time flight, this year there are two more on-time flights.

— Graeme Edgeler (@GraemeEdgeler) July 18, 2023

As for the camera operator, he has countless new fans after Tuesday's hilarious stunt.

Protect this camera operator at all cost! 👏🏼🏆

— DoctoresseHODL (@DoctoresseHODL) July 19, 2023

Pearson is boasting an improvement by 17 positions in on-time performance global ranking published by Flight Aware, where it ranked the worst airport in the world in 2022, along with the honour of "most stressful airport."