Question for Canadians

[Ineke]

We are Canadians, and will be on the Dec. 3 Panama Canal sailing, arriving in Fort Lauderdale Dec. 18, which is a Tuesday.  We are booked to fly Air Canada from Fort Lauderdale at 2:25 p.m. with a layover in Toronto for 1 hr. 25 minutes, and then flying home to Vancouver.  I figured that amount of time would be enough to get to the other terminal for the next leg of our flight. 

Last night I had one of those panic wake-ups: Do we need to go through customs in Toronto?  As in gather all our luggage, pass through customs, and security again, and then get to our next flight, in that amount of time?  Would that even be doable?  

Really hoping someone can reassure me on this?  What’s your experience?

Thanks for your help in advance!  Oh, and BTW, there are no direct flights, neither from Fort Lauderdale or Miami, first thing I checked...

Edited November 26, 2018 by Ineke
Typos

[saskacruiser]

You do go thru Customs in Toronto, but no need to gather your luggage. It's transferred for you, and you confirm it's yours by a photo.

 

It's a lot of walking and you may be required to take a short shuttle ride to the next terminal (all while staying within the secure area) but it's all doable in that amount of time. Our layover is generally 2.5 to 3 hours and we have plenty of time to eat and then sit around waiting.

[boulders]

You should be fine. Canadian Customs and Immigration is pretty streamlined. Now, if you were going the other direction (YVR to FLL), you might have a problem. US immigration has been awful at YYZ recently. It took me 2 hours to get through in June. 

[Ineke]

Thank you, I feel better!  We’re OK going, direct flight to San Diego.  Phew!

[SilvertoGold]

Not a problem.  We did this with the same layover.  Shuttle to another terminal because of construction.  In any case, the plane knows who is coming, who is late arriving, who is held up and will wait. We did not go through customs, did not have to collect luggage.

 

We would have preferred a longer layover so we could have had time to get something to eat, though!

Edited November 26, 2018 by SilvertoGold

[john2003]

My experience is a little old. I think it may depend on security as you will also have to be reprocessed. I have seen people miss there connection because of the lineups. Just make sure it is a legal connection and then at least rebooking should be the airlines problem. 

[Dogstar]

It’s a tight connection but do-able, barring unforeseen delays.  Try to be as far forward on FLL-YYZ aircraft that you can to give a jumpstart on getting through Customs, etc..

 

Have a safe, enjoyable journey. 

 

Cheers. Dogstar. 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, Dogstar said:

It’s a tight connection but do-able, barring unforeseen delays.  Try to be as far forward on FLL-YYZ aircraft that you can to give a jumpstart on getting through Customs, etc..

 

Have a safe, enjoyable journey. 

 

Cheers. Dogstar. 

 

Good suggestion Dogstar on sitting as close to the front as possible.  We always do that too.

 

Ineke, it is tight but it is certainly do-able.  Customs/Immigration is a lot more streamlined coming home than it is entering the U.S. 😉. 

[ABoatNerd]

In Toronto, the OP will have to deal with Canada customs 2X, the 2nd time they will be required to have all their bags.

 

Bags are not checked through if from overseas/USA.

 

First, you will go to the assembly hall and use the new highly automated customs kiosk which replaces the paper form used to be provided on the plane. If you have Nexus, you go to a separate line. At this point you do not have your checked baggage.

 

Then you  take your kiosk printed form to an agent for 1st inspection. Passing through you go to the baggage hall and claim your checked bags. 

 

Secondary inspection is on the way out of the baggage area, it is more routine, but they do eye you and check your paperwork that it is authorized by the agent at the 1st inspection.

 

Then go left at the doorway which says connections. Inside this area there are airline check ins which will take your bags and send them to your next flight.

 

Unfortunately, then you have to go upstairs and go through security yet again.

 

This process is because your flight is not considered domestic - so you do not stay in a contained environment. You transition from international to domestic.

 

Safe travels.

[Ineke]

Oh, wow, ABoatNerd, that’s what I was afraid of.  I guess we’d better call AirCanada and see what they suggest.  Thanks for the info, though, appreciate being set straight on this.  

[Copper10-8]

 

CBSA vs CBP - no comparison! As a Yank, really like dealing with CBSA both as crew and as a pax; CBP is always a crap shoot as to how you're gonna get treated. Oh, except that time when I wore my L.A. Kings jersey in Vancouver and took a lot of heat from the agents  Sorry Ineke, back to your hopefully not, dilemma at Pearson

 

 

[OzCanuck]

1 hour ago, Ineke said:

Oh, wow, ABoatNerd, that’s what I was afraid of.  I guess we’d better call AirCanada and see what they suggest.  Thanks for the info, though, appreciate being set straight on this.  

 

ABoatNerd doesn't have it entirely correct.   You deal with immigration once, and "customs" once.   There definitely are some connections where you DO NOT have to claim and re-check - I know that because I have done it.

 

Are both your flights on AC?  You mention about changing terminals but you don't need to do that if both your flights are on AC.  It will all be Terminal 1.

 

The definitive guide is here:

 

https://torontopearson.com/Connecting.aspx#

 

As long as it is all on one ticket, it is a "legal" connection.  If you've bought two separate tickets, then you could well be in trouble (i.e. AC and WestJet).

[kazu]

OzCanuck,

 

I agree.  It's basically Customs/Immigration (or that's what I call it) and then you go through, pick up your bags, put them on a card, pass your card to the security people and then then go to connections (around the corner) and put the bags back on the belt and off you go.

 

Yes, you do need to go through security again but if you tell them you have a connecting flight and if time is tight they will move you up.

 

I'm not sure what is going on at YYZ right now as far as construction but it was pretty simple in the past.  The key is to hope a zillion flights aren't arriving at the same time.  But they move pretty fast 😉

 

Now, changing terminals?  The train comes often and fast.  The only thing I would be concerned about is that if you have to change terminals, you might have to take your luggage and re-check it.  

 

We did when we flew KLM (different terminal) and flew A/C on the puddle hopper to get home.  We would have made it with your time line but we were the only plane in for Customs/Immigration.  It really is quite seamless.  Just have your basic list in case they have questions.  It's usually just a couple "what did you buy, do you have alcohol, how long were you gone, what was the purpose of your visit", etc.

 

hope this helps a bit.

 

We would have made it with your time line, but in all honestly I prefer a 2 hour time line just in case.  Planes can be late, etc.  But as I said earlier, both Customs and Security will move you up (or should) if you have a connnecting flight.

[Ineke]

Thank you all so much for your help!  I just spoke with an Air Canada agent, he assured me that there will be enough time to change to our Vancouver flight, and we will not even see our bags, they’ll be transfered on to the next flight.  He also assured me that should our flight from Fort Lauderdale arrive late, there’s no need to worry, we’ll be put on the next flight...the red-eye maybe 😀.  Thank you, OzCanuck, for the link to the Pearson information link, it was very helpful in clearing things up for me.  Good to know!

And Copper 10-8, you really should have known better...

[SilvertoGold]

9 minutes ago, Ineke said:

Thank you all so much for your help!  I just spoke with an Air Canada agent, he assured me that there will be enough time to change to our Vancouver flight, and we will not even see our bags, they’ll be transfered on to the next flight.  He also assured me that should our flight from Fort Lauderdale arrive late, there’s no need to worry, we’ll be put on the next flight...the red-eye maybe 😀.  Thank you, OzCanuck, for the link to the Pearson information link, it was very helpful in clearing things up for me.  Good to know!

And Copper 10-8, you really should have known better...

 

[SilvertoGold]

Glad you talked to Air Canada.  This describes our experience in mid-October.

 

Have a great cruise!

[senorjim]

You no longer need to pick up and transfer bags on Air Canada inbound from FLL but you will need to clear security after customs. 

 

Jim

 

[Tbay]

When going thru Customs be on the lookout for a separate line/room for those with connections, instead of those whose final destination is Toronto.