Toronto Airport know as Pearson International Airport (YYZ) has been a mess recently. The Airport has been understaffed, creating a mess of long lines and general chaos. There have been ongoing delays. Also, some travellers have been rerouting their plans – many through Billy Bishop Airport on the Toronto Islands.

However, it is not just the painful delays and the crowded space that is an issue. The baggage claim is another major concern. Travellers have had to wait as long as two hours to collect their baggage. To make matters worse, travellers face row after row of luggage instead of the usual carousel procession.

Also, travellers who have already suffered lengthy delays on their trip through Pearson are super frustrated when they have to wait for hours for their baggage. Moreover, some passengers also said that there were confusing directions that had them waiting at the wrong carousel.

Also, the worse is that some passengers aren’t even getting their bags for several days. Moreover, it is expected that things are going to get worse moving forward until the public health measures holding things up are removed.

The national president of the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) said in a recent release, “It is absolutely irresponsible of the federal government to let the situation stand as it is.”

Jan De Silva, president, and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade said that, “International passengers are being forced to wait for up to three hours, sometimes inside the aircraft they flew in on, because of longer processing times by customs officers”.

He also said that these challenges are because of the staffing shortages. Also, the outdated pandemic policies have been creating extensive and unnecessary delays. ArriveCAN app is another reason for the delays.

A lot of people with connecting flights have missed their flights because of this chaos.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) as well as the business leaders have asked the federal government to get rid of legacy public health requirements. These include COVID testing, checking proof-of-vaccination and ArriveCAN. Also, they asked the gov. to invest in more staffing and technology.

What Should You Do as a Traveler?

The GTTA says that they are working on relieving the long waits. However, they recommend that-

Check-in beforehand and make sure all your documents are in order.
Departing passengers arrive two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international flights.
Passengers have their boarding passes ready. You should be prepared to remove electric devices from luggage. Also, avoid wearing clothing with metal in order to minimize security wait times.
Arriving passengers should fill out their ArriveCan apps prior to arriving at customs to speed the process up.

So, if you are planning to go via Pearson Airport, you should plan accordingly to avoid any hassle.