The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), the agency that oversees the operations of Toronto Pearson International Airport, held a press conference on Friday to update the public on the transit hub’s progress.
“We are indeed far from the finish line, but the actions of the GTAA, the federal government, agencies, airlines and many other partners working in concert are indeed having a positive impact,” said GTAA President and CEO Deborah Flint.
Flint said the airport has seen “measurable” operational improvements in recent weeks following an increase in travel demand caused by the lifting of public health restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
These improvements are specifically seen in metrics related to security wait times, flight delays, cancellations and baggage delivery.
According to Flint, data from the Canadian Aviation Security Authority (CATSA), which screens passengers before boarding at the airport, shows that 82 per cent of passengers who boarded a flight last week cleared security in less than from 15 minutes.
That’s a one percentage point improvement from the rolling average of the past four weeks, which Flint said was partly due to CATSA hiring “hundreds” of new employees.
Flight delays at Pearson are also shrinking, the GTAA says — if only slightly.
Deborah Flint, President and CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) provides a progress update at Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto on Friday, August 5, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette Flint said that, as of last week, 44 percent of all flights were on time. While he admits that’s not a number the GTAA would normally call a success, Flint said it’s a “substantial” improvement from last month’s statistic of 35 percent. Passengers recently arriving at Pearson from overseas trips may have been asked to wait on the tarmac due to customs delays. Flint said that process is also improving due to an increase in the number of Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers at the border. Last week, only 19 planes were held on arrival due to lines at customs. In July, the rolling average of planes was 60 per week. Flint also credited the “streamlining of the ArriveCAN application” as part of the reason planes are held on the tarmac less often. Earlier this week, Pearson touted the app’s new pre-declaration feature — which allows travelers to submit customs and immigration information up to 72 hours before arrival — as an effective way to save time. Meanwhile, wait times at the baggage carousel also seem to be dropping. Flint said domestic passengers waited an average of 24 minutes for their belongings after the flight. That’s three minutes less than they expected last month. Bags are also returned to their owners three minutes faster for international travelers and four minutes faster for cross-border passengers. The GTAA said it will make the metrics discussed during Friday’s press conference publicly available in the coming weeks and months as a way to provide passengers “at a glance” at the airport’s operations. Also, travelers can access interactive infographics and a “peak hour dashboard” to help them navigate the airport as more and more people flock to make a trip. And while the messages delivered by Flint on Friday were overwhelmingly positive, few operational benchmarks going forward were mentioned in the progress update, except that Flint said it was “looking forward” to the day when on-time targets return above 70% But Flint said she and her team are “committed” to providing the “best experience for Canadians and international travelers” — despite being named the world’s worst airport for delays by the Wall Street Journal last month. “We will continue to provide solutions. To be persistent, to continue to innovate, to create new opportunities and solutions, not just to get back to where we were, but to create the opportunity for the airport of the future,” Flint said. People line up before entering security at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Friday, August 5, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Dennett
