Pearson Airport says it is taking steps to improve travel ahead of busy holiday season

Toronto Pearson Airport is making efforts to avoid a winter of discontent for travellers this holiday season.

On Thursday, the oft-maligned airport announced a series of operational improvements “designed to meet and maintain our readiness throughout the winter season.”

The moves come just months after Pearson was ranked the second-worst in North America for overall traveller satisfaction in the “mega airport” category in a survey.

Toronto Pearson says it expects a 10 per cent increase in passenger traffic this holiday season and will try to better meet that demand by increasing staffing, expanding deicing capacity, and adding new advanced snowplows.

Toronto Pearson is expecting a 10 per cent increase in passenger traffic this holiday season. To manage the increased demand on the airport, we’ve expanded our deicing capacity, added additional state-of-the-art snow removal equipment, and implemented cutting-edge predictive… pic.twitter.com/CyzH9DJzvX

— Toronto Pearson (@TorontoPearson) November 30, 2023

Greater Toronto Airport Authorities (GTAA) President and CEO, Deborah Flint, said the airport would also implement new, cutting-edge predictive technologies for weather and delay forecasting.

“Winter will always bring challenging weather, so we are reinforcing tools to equip passengers with more information and control over their travel experience,” Flint said.

This season, we've significantly enhanced our snow removal capabilities with a fleet of 106 specialized snow clearing machines, including snowplows, tractors, wheel loaders, deicing trucks, snow blowers, and front-mounted sweepers.1) This season, we've significantly enhanced our… pic.twitter.com/9O3iLKFQhN

— Toronto Pearson (@TorontoPearson) November 30, 2023

Human intelligence is often questioned when luggage is misplaced or lost, so Pearson says it will lean more on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help track and manage luggage.

In line with our commitment to innovation, we've introduced an advanced AI system for baggage handling that allows us to track and manage luggage more efficiently. pic.twitter.com/KWdQrnqApd

— Toronto Pearson (@TorontoPearson) November 30, 2023

“An innovative AI system has also been put into place for more efficient baggage handling through the proactive identification and resolution of common, potential issues that may otherwise interrupt the flow of operations,” a release states.

Flint also touted several statistics showing recent operational improvements, including a 6 per cent boost in On-Time Performance (OTP) in November and 10 per cent improvement year-over-year.

But the airport has also made headlines in November for all the wrong reasons — twice admitting that human error led to massive delays affecting thousands of customers after they were misdirected into restricted areas.