Summer's in full swing, which means the busy travel season is upon us. This year, Toronto Pearson Airport is ready for the rush.

It's no secret that the past few years have been turbulent for the aviation industry, thanks to the massive impact of lockdowns. As a result, passengers were often faced with long lines, baggage claim issues, and delays — all of which made travelling pretty stressful.

Now, Toronto Pearson has worked diligently to overcome these challenges by implementing a range of enhancements and innovations.

The airport is ready to return to its leading position among North American airports and ensure all passengers have the most seamless and efficient experience possible. Here's how.

Digital efficiency 

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which operates Pearson, has teamed up with the Canada Border Services Agency to make navigating queues a whole lot easier.

Several different tools have been introduced to help passengers speed up their travel process, including new biometric e-gates, which will expedite customs clearance, as well as advancements in contactless check-in and boarding. 

In addition, travellers can expect extended hours for pre-booking spaces in security lines (YYZ Express), advanced digital mapping tools, and proactive management of flight volumes to ensure efficient passenger processing. New digital technology at check-in, gates, and baggage areas have also been deployed.

Baggage handling overhaul

The baggage system at the airport has been upgraded and now features artificial intelligence that detects possible breakdowns and overloading before they occur.

There is also a resource pool for manual baggage movement in order to help the airlines and their ground handlers.

Increased staffing

The team at Toronto Pearson has grown significantly in the past year. With 130 new team members at the GTAA and 50,000 people working in total for airport employers (i.e., airlines, ground handlers, agencies, and retailers), the airport is fully staffed and ready for summer.

New passenger care teams aim to give travellers a seamless airport experience, and a focus is being placed on balancing activities and resources during peak travel periods.

Real-time analysis

Let's face it, airports can be confusing. That's why the GTAA has introduced a new customer-experience platform that provides real-time analysis to enhance wayfinding. 

New sensors will be installed to pull screening data times for all agency checkpoints, and wait times will be posted in the terminal and on the website. This is to give passengers better live information so they know exactly what to expect.

Proactive airline planning

In order to avoid disruptions, delays, and missed connections, airlines are being asked to verify staffing and operational plans. 

This way, Toronto Pearson can reduce delays, disruptions, or missed connections to provide a smooth summer schedule.

The little things 

No detail is too small in the quest for better on-time performance airport-wide. Toronto Pearson has gone so far as to limit non-authorized aircraft parking beyond 12 hours, to make the best use of space. And it’s been investing in airfield lighting and electrical projects, to minimize unplanned downtime for maintenance.

With so many proactive measures and advanced technologies, Toronto Pearson remains an excellent choice for travel this summer.

To keep up with customer needs, the airport is currently encouraging travellers to provide feedback on their experiences so that it can improve its services even further.

You can provide your own feedback online, or by simply sharing your positive experience on social media. Find out more about the new improvements at TorontoPearson.com