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Published May 28, 2022 at 8:09 p.m.
One thing we do know is that since the borders opened for travel, there has been a huge struggle at Pearson Airport in Mississauga to keep up with the number of people coming and going.
At least the Canadian government has acknowledged that there is a problem and is taking steps to help passengers move faster.
Omar Algabra, Minister of Transport, and the Honorable Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, issued this statement on May 27 to provide up-to-date information on actions the government is taking to reduce waiting times at Canadian airports:
They mentioned these points as concrete actions to be taken in response to airport delays:
- Transport Canada (TC) is rapidly convening government agencies and industry, including the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Canadian Air Safety Authority (CATSA), setting up an outbound screening committee to address with the difficulties encountered at checkpoints before boarding and prior authorization to leave and to develop new approaches to dealing with these pressure points in the travel system.
- CATSA is working with its contractors to increase the number of staff to check at passenger checkpoints. There are currently approximately 400 additional vetting staff in various phases of their training across the country, which will be deployed from now until the end of June.
- With the support of TC, these recruits will benefit from their faster progress through a more flexible deployment process so that they can be on site as quickly as possible. Airports are working in support of CATSA with this initiative.
- CATSA is very close to hiring 100% of its target staff for summer inspections at many airports, including Toronto Pearson International Airport and Vancouver International Airport.
- CATSA has accelerated the use of pre-certified auditors to perform non-verification functions, to optimize resources, and to allow certified verifiers to focus on key security features.
- Airports, airlines and other partners communicate with CATSA on a daily basis to help them adjust their schedules to ensure that inspectors are available where and when they are needed to maintain busy travel times, as air travel is fast. restores.
- CATSA is currently studying airport best practices to see where these processes can be applied to other airports to achieve efficiencies.
They also mention that although more remains to be done, these efforts are paying off by reducing the waiting time for screening. Since the beginning of the month, the number of passengers waiting 30 minutes or more for an outbound check-in at our largest airports (Toronto Pearson International, Vancouver International, Montreal Trudeau International and Calgary International) has been halved at all four airports.
With regard to arriving passengers, the Government of Canada, including TC, PHAC and Public Safety Canada, continues to work with airlines and industry partners to reduce delays, including aircraft detained at the gates of Toronto Pearson International Airport.
- CBSA and Toronto Pearson International Airport are taking action by adding 25 pavilions to speed up processing time. The CBSA is also initiating an annual action plan to ensure efficiency; increase the available officer capacity; and facilitating the return of student border guards.
- PHAC is working with CBSA and partners to streamline their operations. For example, they will remove the requirement for mandatory random testing in the process of international relations. Other changes are being developed to streamline processing for public health reasons.
Airports, airlines and the Government of Canada, including CATSA, PHAC, TC and CBSA, are improving communication with passengers so that passengers can better anticipate pre-boarding and arrival check requirements, facilitating smoother transitions to and from airports.
There are things passengers can do to speed up processes:
- Travelers arriving at Toronto Pearson International Airport and Vancouver International Airport can use the CBSA Extended Declaration on ArriveCAN’s web version to make their customs and immigration declarations up to 72 hours before the flight to Canada. This will save passengers time when they arrive at the airport. This feature will be integrated into the ArriveCAN mobile app this summer and will be available at other airports in Canada in the coming months.
- All travelers arriving from international destinations must fill in their information at ArriveCan. Travelers arriving in Canada without completing ArriveCAN contribute significantly to border congestion. Regardless of vaccination status, a passenger who arrives without an ArriveCAN receipt is considered an unvaccinated passenger, which means that he / she must undergo a test on arrival and day 8 and be quarantined for 14 days. ArriveCAN travelers without a receipt can also be enforced, including a $ 5,000 fine. The simplest thing passengers can do to speed up their airport experience is to prepare, including filling out ArriveCAN.
- Travelers aged 16 or over can use the new eGates at Toronto Pearson International Airport to verify their identity and submit their customs and immigration declarations, which will improve traffic in the Arrivals Hall of Terminal 1 and speed up processing.
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