Toronto Pearson Airport

Not Verified | I had a flight on September 17, 2021 at 8.30am to Raleigh, NC. I had no checked bags and I arrived at the airport at 6.40am (1 hr and 50 mins) prior to my scheduled flight time. When I arrived, I was greeted with am extremely long line at TSA and come to find out TSA did not open til 6.15am. Why is TSA only opening at 6.15 am when there are various flights leaving at 8.30 and 9.00am. There was even a line in Nexus and I have never seen a line in Nexus in the amount of years that I have traveled. Myself and others ended up missing our flights, because airport personnel did not want to provide priority to those that have been waiting almost two hours (some even more) and their flights were departing within a short period of time. Air Canada needs to train their employees much better. When I missed my flight, I was told to go past customer service and use their courtesy white phones to reschedule my flight. I booked my ticket with United Airlines but it was operating through Air Canada. I even checked in through Air Canada and received my boarding pass with Air Canada. While I was on the phone with the rep, she advised (incorrectly) that I had to contact United. When I contacted United, they told me I should be speaking with Air Canada. Between 8.50am and 9.30am, I was on hold and being passed back and forth between the airlines. I then went to the Air Canada customer service desk and was able to rebook my flight without any hassle. So again, I was given the incorrect information from the Air Canada rep, whom I spoke with on the phone. By the time I was able to re book my flight, the next flight leaving wasn't until 2:45pm, connected in DC and my next flight out of DC wasn't til after 10.30pm. I spent 14-15 hours in airports for what would have been a 1 hour and change direct flight, if TSA coordinated much better. Also, we were required to take a covid 19 test prior to leaving the country and no one at Toronto Pearson Airport asked me for my Covid 19 results. This is definitely a compliance issue with the requirement of the Government, to provide proof of a negative covid 19 result.

✅ Trip Verified | This is the worst organized airport I have experienced. They tell you to come three hours in advance but people who arrive two hours get moved ahead of you while you get held back and have to wait. Then when the late people arrive for your same flight they go ahead of you and that is before you get to security! You get punished for coming early and doing what they tell you to do. Most ridiculous system I’ve ever experienced in my life and I travel regularly even during the pandemic!

Not Verified | The worst arrival experience ever. Took 4 hours to get out of the airport. Huge lines, no organization, airport is run like a third world country. Canada is falling behind in every aspect.

✅ Trip Verified | I must agree with all previous reviews that the arrival experience at Pearson was a complete disaster and looking at previous reviews, nothing has changed. As an international conference planner, this was my first opportunity to 'escape' Canada for an international trip. Departure procedures took 2 hours (not exactly a stellar start) - but the return to Pearson - how embarrassing for a city like Toronto to be so disorganized. No social distancing whatsoever once you arrive into the customs hall. There were at least 1000 people snaking through (multiple international flights landing around 9.00 pm) - all of us crammed into the hall to line up for the machines for customs declaration. How many hundreds of people touched those keypads, no cleaning in between (as is promised on all the signs about extra cleaning efforts). Let's not even talk about the toilets. Then the Customs Officer wants to physically take our cell phones to see the PDF file of our negative Covid test. What is the point of filling out the ArriveCAN app and uploading all the docs if the experience is not going to be contact free. By the way, agent had no gloves on and saw this person touch all other phones ahead of us. I must ask - how does this help with potential spread of the virus. Baggage took an additional 2 hours. From landing to exit - an exhausting 3 hour experience. I am ashamed to call Toronto Pearson my home airport.

✅ Trip Verified | Horrible airport! To embark huge lines, to disembark huge lines, a mess. The bag carousels are a joke. Shame, shame! Over 2 hours waiting for my luggage! What a shame to this country. Travel to USA, Europe, South America and this one is by far the worst!

✅ Trip Verified | The priority lines don't work. A man entered the regular security line at the same time I entered the priority line. He was through security before I was. They only give one line to priority and 6 to regular screening. Get it together Pearson, you are an embarrassment.

Not Verified | I returned last to Toronto night & it was complete chaos at Pearson airport in TO. They have a work to rule by border security plus Covid measures and it has added up to disaster. Keeping ppl crammed on the plane for 2 hours after landing, huge line ups at customs with no distancing whatsoever, ppl fighting, exhausted, crying, sleeping on the floor. Baggage claim taking over 5 hours for some, luggage everywhere, no ability to physically distance whatsoever- unsafe & unreal! Staff seemed indifferent and unwilling/unable to deal with the situation. If you know anyone else traveling back, please warn them.

Not Verified | Flying back from a short US trip, everything fine leaving Can, wstjet flight etc had ourAntigen test -ve, no one asked for it from Wstjet or customs or when we landed. We needed a PCR test to return, we complied and got a -ve test done and wasn't cheap to attain. Wasn't until we got back into Canada did the show start! We are born and raised Cdn's, and you wouldn't think we were in Canada! We are also Nexus holders and ID machines weren't working, went to customs and shared this so we had to go thru a normal Q&A with the agent, then the Can Travel app we did before our return and the agent said we never uploaded the vax results, but we had all our paper work showing we had our dbl vax and all the prompts on the app never stopped us to load but gave us our code anyway, so we had to redo while waiting with the agent even though she had all the hard copy docs needed! Finally she let us go thru after re doing nexus card scans, passport scans and vax and pcr test scans again. Then informs us we are picked randomly? To get another PCR test! We are directed to an area to upload more info and data, 17 stations, 2 in each stns to upload our info, not one white person, hardly could speak English, and all the random people being tested, all white!! The 1st 2 bumbled our data for 15 min and then informed their IPad wasn't working, hardly understand these two, send us to another station, inputting our passport info again, health card info etc everyone in this area plus maybe another dozen of them standing around doing nothing, all in masks, gloves, nurse coverups, etc then after another 10 + min we are directed to an area for the testing, again 1 to 2 in each curtain area to test with dozens standing around. Canada wants diversity, but not one white person was working, a total gross misconduct. I'm ok with diversity but this was a visual joke! This is what our Country has become! We got our test and left! An xtra 1.5 hrs thru this, you wouldn't even know you were in Canada! The whole experience was disgusting.

✅ Trip Verified | I had a horrendous experience at Pearson Airport. I was travelling with a 3 month old baby and a toddler. The staff was inconsiderate, lacked complete empathy for mothers travelling with young children. The line going to customs was so disorganised, impossible to safely distance yourself from one another. One staff physically blocked the elevators for those with young children. When we went downstairs to customs, there was no line for those with young children, when asked the staff if there was another cue, she rudely said « everyone is the same ». We waited in line with a small baby for almost 3 hours. It’s disheartening to see the staff there have zero compassion to those who are more vulnerable and might need extra assistance. I’ve travelled the world, young children are always given priority at other airports. When we come out, the luggage was impossible to find, we saw many other passengers frantically looking for their luggage since there was no clear indication. I came to Canada again after two years and the experience at Pearson left such a horrible impression in my mind. A complete embarrassment for Canada.

✅ Trip Verified | The worst run airport I have ever seen. Been around the world. In some of the busiest airports nothing like this. Lazy staff. Always always late to get luggage. Luggage claim department is the worst I have ever seen or experienced. Absolute chaos. Waiting for at least an hour every time to get luggage even when arriving on a small flight. No other airport in the world is like this. I fly at least 5 times a year and this is always the case. Just sickening and unacceptable. Always luggage lying all over the place. Unclaimed. Complete mess. Something needs to be done about this Airport. It’s an embarrassment to Canadians.