After months of chronic problems at Toronto Pearson International Airport, the operating agency says things are “looking up.”
Travelers took to social media to complain about long lines, canceled flights and lost luggage, prompting politicians to call for immediate solutions.
The Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) has attributed these delays primarily to staffing, as well as temporary mechanical outages.
But according to the GTAA president and CEO, the situation may finally be starting to resolve itself.
“We are seeing challenges with a restart this summer here at Toronto Pearson and also at many airports in Europe and in the United States,” Deborah Flint told CP24 on Wednesday morning.
“We’re seeing both the workforce being restored throughout the system at airlines and government agencies and we’re seeing processes improve.”
The GTAA says that in the past four weeks, aircraft waits on arrival have dropped from an average of 33 minutes in April to just over 16 minutes in the last week of June.
They also say that 82 percent of passengers screened at departures are going through the process in 15 minutes or less, something the GTAA adds is “well below pre-pandemic standards.”
“That’s a drastic improvement over what we had before,” Flint said. “Our goal is to get to zero wait times on board and we will continue to work with the government and our agencies to improve that.”
Wait times at security and customs have been improved due to the hiring of new staff, but GTAA adds that even more staff are needed to cope with peak travel times. The agency also says that the addition of new kiosks and electronic gates at Canada customs is helping reduce wait times.
Flint confirmed that some airlines have reduced the number of scheduled flights to meet their staffing demands.
Little information has been provided about problems with baggage claim, but GTAA says it is addressing those infrastructure issues.
“KNOWLEDGE IS POWER,” SAYS GTAA
The GTAA released a online dashboard on Wednesday that allows travelers to see what times of day the airport is busiest.
The airport advises that if someone is traveling during rush hour, they must show up three hours before their international flight and two hours before their domestic flight.
“For each terminal, we break down what the two-week average of wait times is throughout the day,” Flint said. “So you can plan when you are going to travel, as well as plan your trip to the airport with more information.”
Flint added that the dashboard will be refined and more tools will be added to ease any travel anxiety.
Part of the campaign is also to inform the public about who does what at the airport. For example, check-in is the responsibility of the airline, while baggage is divided between the airline and the airport. Security falls under the mandate of the federal government.
The Greater Toronto Airport Authority has published an infographic showing who is responsible for what element of the journey.
Officials also provided some tips on how to make the trip perfect:
- Review all entry requirements to check-in at home and prioritize carry-on luggage. Make sure checked bags are “readily distinguishable.”
- Know what can and cannot go through security and have liquids, gels and electronics readily available
- Please have your passport and boarding pass ready for inspection.
- Complete your advance declaration and ArriveCan details before arriving at the airport