Pearson travellers waiting hours to deboard plane, greeted with long lines at customs
While airport officials have asked passengers to pack their patience when flying out of Pearson, those flying in should also anticipate the possibility of long wait times to exit the airport.
In recent weeks, many travellers arriving in Toronto were not immediately greeted with the aircraft door opening upon reaching their gate. Instead, they were asked to sit still on the plane, with some passengers waiting up to 3 hours to deboard. Only to find another long journey through customs.
“It’s taken over 4 hours to clear customs,” Joe told CityNews 680 Monday night, sharing a video of hundreds of passengers lined up in Terminal 3.
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“The wait to get off the plane and customs was longer than the flight from LA.”
2 hours and counting. Let us off this plane now @AirCanada pic.twitter.com/SLxbIgVf85
— justPOTO (@PotoJust) May 3, 2022
Hey @TorontoPearson our plane AC120 spent 90 minutes on the tarmac because there were no gates available?! And now more delays with the luggage. Not feeling motivated to use this airport again anytime soon pic.twitter.com/XGui0CFlqR
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— Adrian Moise (@cptmbl) May 3, 2022
According to Pearson spokesperson Tori Gass, there isn’t just one factor contributing to the gate holdups upon arrival.
“Many elements can contribute to passenger wait times, including things such as weather and if the aircraft arrives at the time expected,” Gass tells CityNews. “Currently, the processing time per passenger by CBSA officers is still significantly longer than prior to the pandemic given the ongoing Public Health Agency of Canada requirements.”
Clarifying that pre-pandemic it took a CBSA officer on average 30 seconds to process an international arriving passenger, compared to today where the process can take at least one to two minutes — two to four times longer.
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That in combination with passengers now using a kiosk to submit information prior to seeing an officer, compared to the paper customs forms we all remember, has added to border processing times.
“…and we have safety-related capacity limits in the customs halls, we work to manage passenger volumes in the terminal,” adds Gass. “There are times when we may hold passengers onboard their plane or in waiting areas to accomplish this while keeping passengers moving as quickly as we can, and this can change from day to day.”
After an over two hour wait to disembark from an @AirCanada flight from LAX to @TorontoPearson, every passenger has been greeted by a line with no end in sight for immigration. Been waiting now for an hour. Still can’t see the front. What gives #yyz ? pic.twitter.com/D7VgV2h1vt
— Steph (@hkyogi_) May 3, 2022
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The CEO of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) apologized for the inconvenience to travellers on Monday.
“CATSA is currently experiencing the pent-up demand for air travel occasioned by the pandemic,” said CEO Mike Saunders in a statement. “We are continuing to work with our screening contractors to take all steps possible to increase staffing levels while ensuring we continue to provide the highest levels of security screening.”
CATSA is recommending passengers show up at the airport two hours before a domestic flight and three hours before travelling to international destinations. The delays at Pearson checkpoints appeared to have cleared by Tuesday afternoon, according to the CATSA website.
CityNews reached out to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), with an inquiry into staffing at Pearson airport’s arrivals terminals.
“The Canada Border Services Agency does not share staffing information for individual ports of entry”, wrote Rebecca Purdy, Senior Spokesperson for the CBSA.
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“What I can tell you is that the CBSA takes appropriate measures to ensure that there are sufficient resources available to adequately manage the border and allow for the ability to increase operational flexibility and respond to service demands as and when required.”
Purdy says travellers can do their part to reduce wait times by always coming prepared with their passport (or other acceptable identification) and by completing their mandatory ArriveCAN submission, including their COVID-19 vaccination information, within 72 hours before arriving at the border.
