Toronto Pearson Airport

Consistently bad experience flying in and out of this airport. Despite a beautiful building the staff don't seem to know how to run an effective organization. There are never enough security staff to make the screening process move quickly and efficiently ground staff work at a snails-pace. Almost every time the plane has to sit at the gate for 15-30 mins waiting for the jetway-bridge. Baggage handling is one of the worst I have experienced it takes on average 40-50 mins for baggage to come out. Customs hall in both T1 and T3 are painfully slow and always understaffed to handle the number of planes and passengers.

Arrived at YYZ Terminal 1 on US Airways Express from PHL. Truly shocking arrival experience - was able to walk from the gate pass through immigration bag claim (checked 1 bag) and customs in 14 mins. First time that I've arrived at T1 and it has taken less than 45 mins to do an international arrival. Surprised at the speed of baggage delivery - usually a slow process.

Clear signage easy customs procedure and modern terminal. However there are not a lot of facilities available for an airport it's size. Terminal is a little bland looking. Easy access around the airport to luggage claim area.

My flight out of Terminal 3 late at night the lack of amenities was shocking. All the shops were closed and even the bar closed at 11.00. There was one poor food counter open. The waiting areas reminded me of a bus station. It is astonishing a city the size of Toronto has no proper transport between the and city centre and airport.

I don't expect a friendly service from airport staff but expect at the very least professionalism. Customs officers are rude. I have to go through this airport at least 4 times a year and you are met with very long lines. Not a positive first impression for those visiting Canada.

The US Customs at Toronto Pearson Airport is ridiculous. Too many travelers and too few US customs agents. Plan to wait up to 2 hrs. While you wait you'll notice that most of the US Customs kiosks are empty. That's because the US government refuses to staff it properly. If the US refuses to staff their customs service properly get rid of it and we can check through customs in the US like every other country. Save money and time. Enough is enough.

Returning to Ohio through Toronto. Stood in line for US customers for over 2 hrs with hundreds of others we were moved to different lines with little apparent organization. No toilet facilities easily available. Half of the customs stations were not occupied. After spending about 30 seconds with a customs official we were passed on to security. The security check was reasonable for these days. Made a long run to our gate where thankfully the plane was being held. All together a very unpleasant experience.

Today at YYZ I waited in the customs line for over 1hr. It was out the door snaking around the departures terminal. More than half the customs counters were closed. When I arrived at the customs officer he took my fingerprints then said there was problem. The machine would not read my fingerprints. He gave a yellow card and told me to go to the secondary customs area. I waited for another hour and realized I was going to miss my flight. I complained until they finally agreed to review my case. The customs officer stamped my passport and I just made my flight. Had I not complained and refused to sit down I would have endured missing my flight and would have been forced through that customs line again. This is not the way passengers should be treated.

Avoid this airport if you are making a connection between a transatlantic flight and the US. We had a very long wait of 40 mins to collect our luggage along with nearly another hour to get through customs and security. Several passengers had very short connection times and they were only called to jump the line when there was only about 25 mins left to catch their flights.

Our last trip was an Air Canada flight from Madrid-Boston with a connection through Toronto. Whole trip was great with the exception of the connection through Toronto. The line at customs was as far as the eye could see. With so many people trying to make their connecting flight there was pushing and shoving. When we finally made it through customs picked up our bag just to move it across the room onto another belt and got to our terminal we noticed that the airport was clean and modern. Nevertheless officials need to do a better job so to handle crowds safely!