Outage results in messy travel day at Toronto Pearson Airport ahead of long weekend

Travellers at Toronto Pearson International Airport were met with delays and longer than normal wait times on Friday morning following a network outage at the airport, resulting in a frustrating travel experience ahead of the long weekend. 

The Canadian Air Transportation Security Authority (CATSA) reported a network outage at the Terminal 1 transborder checkpoint just after 9:30 a.m. via social media. 

WAIT TIME ALERT: A network outage at @TorontoPearson T1 Transborder checkpoint is causing longer than usual wait-times. Your patience is appreciated while CATSA works to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. pic.twitter.com/2cVknZ2KTY

— CATSA (@catsa_gc) September 1, 2023

"Your patience is appreciated while CATSA works to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," the transport authority wrote on Twitter. 

Just before 10:15 a.m., Pearson Airport said that while lines have improved in Terminal 1, passengers should be aware that wait times have "ebbed and flowed" through the morning.

As if the waits aren’t already long enough 💀

— CoverageX (@DailyCoverageX) September 1, 2023

At approximately 1:30 p.m. CATSA provided another update on the issue, writing that while wait times at the transborder checkpoint have stabilized over the last few hours, passengers are encouraged to arrive at the checkpoint early as wait times may increase during peak periods. 

"Things are currently operating well at Toronto Pearson, with normal wait times at Terminal 1 transborder. We are working with CATSA to resolve their outage, but at this point it is having no impact on airport operations," Sean Davidson with the GTAA told blogTO. 

"All other areas of the airport are unaffected by this outage."