Toronto airport delays on return to Canada

[lots-of-km2]

Glad your return YYZ experience was quick and painless, @archer_310.   

[edrussell]

We took our second trip through Pearson in 2021 and arrived home on Friday night.  Our trip was to Cancun for 10 nights in the Rivera Maya.  We flew out on Tuesday Nov 2 for a flight at 9:00am.  We arrived at Park N Fly right at 5:00am.  We expected a delay getting a shuttle to the terminal but one came almost as soon as we got out of the truck.  In the terminal there was a short line to get into bag drop at Air Canada.  The Air Canada pointed to our arms and asked if we were vaccinated.  We said yes, proceeded to bag drop and then on through security.  Took about 15 minutes.  We arrived at the gate about 15 minutes later, so were in at the gate a full 3 hours before the flight.  Zero issues arriving in Cancun.

 

Flight home, the transfer from the resort was a nightmare (read a story about an accident causing chaos near the airport), but we made our flight barely.  We expected a whole new fresh hell at Pearson as we were arriving at 6:50pm on a Friday night.  Not so.  Deplaning took a while as regulations stated that all connecting passengers had to deplane first.  That took maybe 20 minutes or so.  Then they let off 50 passengers every 5 minutes.  We were near the front so we were in the second batch let off.  Next was customs, the line up was not that bad and moved fast.  We breezed through getting the welcomed green sticker on our passport.  Our luggage was already off the baggage carousel waiting for us (a first traveling internationally through Pearson).  A shuttle pulled up right away when we got outside.  Made it to the truck and were on our way in less than 2 hours after landing.  A total non-event.  I've had worse times getting out of Pearson traveling from Calgary.  I have to say all staff have this down to a science.  If you have ALL your docs at the ready it is no trouble at all.

 

[Fouremco]

29 minutes ago, edrussell said:

A shuttle pulled up right away when we got outside.  Made it to the truck and were on our way in less than 2 hours after landing.  A total non-event.

It's sad that we now view two hours from touch down to parking lot as acceptable. It's no wonder that people are increasingly looking for alternatives to flying to/through Pearson.

[edrussell]

40 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

It's sad that we now view two hours from touch down to parking lot as acceptable. It's no wonder that people are increasingly looking for alternatives to flying to/through Pearson.

 

I've spent about 7 years traveling all over North America to and from Pearson.  Internationally and domestically.  Now I will first state I absolutely HATE flying out of Pearson.  I find the place a disaster.  It is most definitely a combination of factors, from traffic getting there, the horrible attitude on most (note I said most, not all) employees there, rude passengers etc.  In the last few years of my domestic travel I moved most of my trips when possible to Hamilton.  With all the being said when traveling internationally especially a 2 hour timeframe from arrival to arriving in my vehicle at Park N fly was 100% the norm.  This was long before the pandemic.  So in fact with respect to Pearson I don't necessarily consider it acceptable, but I do consider it the way it is.  When you compare Pearson to other airports like Calgary, Vancouver etc in Canada there simply is no comparison.  You are 100% dead on in your assertion that many of us can and do look for Pearson alternatives.  Cheers.

 

[broberts]

1 hour ago, edrussell said:

When you compare Pearson to other airports like Calgary, Vancouver etc in Canada there simply is no comparison. 

 

You are right, there is no comparison. Vancouver handles half the traffic that goes through Toronto. Calgary even less.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, broberts said:

 

You are right, there is no comparison. Vancouver handles half the traffic that goes through Toronto. Calgary even less.

True enough, but I think you'll find that the infrastructure and staffing at other Canadian airports have kept pace with their flight and passenger growth, or at least haven't fallen behind as much as Pearson. For example, I've seen long lineups because of too few CBSA officers on duty, but I've also seen long lines when every CBSA booth was staffed.

 

I avoid Pearson like the plague, but I'm not pointing fingers at anyone. As with vehicular traffic in Toronto, it's very expensive and very difficult to try to meet the ever increasing requirements.