Departing and arriving passengers should expect delays 

TORONTO, Canada – Your airport experience will be different than previous trips. Toronto Pearson is Canada’s busiest airport and has seen a sharp increase in travellers as COVID-19 travel restrictions have been eased, the notice reads.

“As Canada’s hub airport, more passengers are passing through Pearson than at any other time during the pandemic, while many of the government of Canada’s health screening measures are still in place”.

International arrivals

Some international passengers are experiencing longer than expected wait times upon arrival. This is due in part to longer processing times at the border. Prior to the pandemic, it took an average of 15-30 seconds for a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer to clear an international arriving passenger. Due to the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 health screening questions, this has increased the processing time at Canada’s borders by two to four times.

As a result, when flights arrive during late afternoon or evening peak periods times of the day when a large number of flights arrive close together passengers may need to be held on their aircraft or in designated waiting areas inside the terminals and slowly metered into the customs hall.

For more information or to provide feedback on the government of Canada’s international arrivals requirements, please contact 1-844-280-5080 or hcinfo.infosc@canada.ca.

Once in the customs hall, you will be screened by a CBSA officer, where you will present your documents and may be asked to show your ArriveCAN app submission. All travellers arriving in Canada must continue to use ArriveCAN to submit mandatory travel and health information. To save time, passengers can use the Advanced CBSA Declaration feature within ArriveCAN online to fill in their customs and immigration declaration. This can be done up to 72 hours in advance of flying to save time when arriving at the airport.

Travellers arriving to Canada from any country, who qualify as fully vaccinated, may be randomly selected for COVID-19 testing upon arrival at the airport. Travellers selected will not be required to quarantine while awaiting their test result.

Related Links:

COVID-19 arrivals testing – Download the ArriveCAN app

At Toronto Pearson, arrivals testing is available at both Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, administered by the Government of Canada.

To prepare for your arrival at Toronto Pearson, you can:

Departures

For departing domestic passengers, we ask that you arrive at the airport at least 2 hours in advance of your flight. For departing international passengers, please arrive at least 3 hours in advance.

To make your experience easier, you can check-in online from home to speed the process, then use one of our touchless kiosks in the check-in lobby if you have bags to drop-off. At the time of check-in, you should be prepared for extra questions and document requirements from your airline. Be sure to confirm with your airline what the specific requirements are for your destination.

To prepare for your departure from Toronto Pearson, you can:

There are various retail and food and beverage options available, from sit down restaurants to take-out offerings. You can also order ahead of time for pick up with Uber Eats to skip the line and reduce physical touchpoints, available in select restaurants. To find out what options are available when you’re travelling, check out our “While you’re here” page.