Long lines at Toronto Pearson airport causing headaches for eager travellers

Toronto Pearson airport says security screening points are causing “longer than expected line-ups,” leading to a build-up of frustration for many travellers.

A spokesperson for the airport issued a statement on Monday after receiving a bulk of inquiries regarding delays.

“Departing passengers at Pearson have been experiencing longer than expected wait times at CATSA security screening points. We have been working with our partners at CATSA to manage the flow of passengers as best as possible,” said Tori Gass.

Officials urged travellers flying from Pearson to leave tons of extra time and check their flight status or on its website before leaving for the airport.

“We’d like to remind passengers that employees in the terminals are doing their best to get them on their way,” Gass added. “We kindly ask passengers to treat employees with respect.”

One social media user responded to Pearson’s tweet, asking how checking flight status will help them cope with long lines and wait times at the airport. An official responded, “peak times differ from one day to another depending on the passenger volume per day,” adding that these situations are often unpredictable.

Another Twitter user, named Shellie, shared a photo of what appears to be a long line at Pearson airport.

My latest experience in the T1 security line at YYZ. pic.twitter.com/Mf16oRcKiz

— Shellie (@bustysal) May 2, 2022

One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told CityNews that she and her family arrived at the airport three hours ahead of their scheduled 9 a.m. flight time. She said they had to rush and barely made the flight due to excessive wait times and long lines at security.

“I really missed travelling until I got to the airport this morning,” she said in an email. “My husband, two children and I were prepared — at least we thought we were. We had no idea we needed to print off our luggage tags beforehand. My son accidentally put it on his suitcase handle, and we were told that was wrong. It was hectic and stressful.”

She said that she was chosen for a random security check, which took longer than initially expected.

“It was absolutely crazy. The airport experience was not a pleasant one today.”

Another man, Jeffrey, said he had a connecting flight from Salt Lake City and had to re-enter security checking. He ended up waiting for two hours in line.

“No one could help me. It was mayhem,” Jeffrey told CityNews.

“Thankfully, I wasn’t in a major rush, or I might have said some things that I regret. It was disorganized. I couldn’t believe how long the process took.”

On Sunday, Pearson officials were forced to issue a tweet after someone impersonated the airport’s Twitter account. Toronto Pearson said its username “does not include any hyphens or symbols, and you can always look for the blue checkmark to verify our account.”

In late April, Sunwing passengers were subjected to long lines and delays at Toronto Pearson Airport after a network-wide system glitch significantly impacted the airline. The issue was resolved on April 22.

Sunwing’s president said the airline would begin offering cash compensation to passengers involved, which varied on the length of the delays.