The Canadian Press Published Friday, June 10, 2022, 5:49 AM EDT Last Updated on Friday, June 10, 2022 5:49 AM EDT
Nearly half a million passengers were detained after arriving on international flights at Pearson Airport in Toronto last month.
The Greater Toronto Airport Authority says 490,810 passengers in May, or about half of all arrivals from abroad, were delayed as they were kept on their planes on letters or faced a phased unloading to ease pressure on overcrowded customs areas.
A total of about 2,700 flights arriving outside the country were delayed in Pearson last month, against four planes – and several hundred passengers – in May 2019.
Scenes of endless security queues and customs at major Canadian airports take place throughout the spring, with the peak travel season remaining for weeks.
Obstacles ranging from a shortage of airport staff to health measures for COVID-19 threaten to escalate into a problem that goes beyond efforts to drain clogged terminals.
The federal government has promised to hire hundreds more security personnel, and Transport Canada has also set up a committee made up of government agencies and industry stakeholders to address the bottlenecks at checkpoints.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 10, 2022.
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