A nasty pre-winter storm is already causing chaos on Toronto roads and public transportation routes, and now even those looking to escape the miserable weather at Pearson Airport are stuck after the travel hub issued a full ground stop early Thursday afternoon.

An alert stated that "Departures at Toronto Pearson International Airport are delayed avg. 147 mins. due to snow or ice. All CNDN AND Contiguous US DEP flights included." This was soon upgraded to a more serious "Departures to Toronto Pearson International Airport are grounded due to snow and ice."

pic.twitter.com/jaZw7gYtYA

— ✈ Stephen (@flying_steve) December 15, 2022

Flight-tracking services show planes circling in holding patterns above the country's busiest airport, apparently waiting for clearance to land as ground crews struggle to keep up with the freezing rain and snow.

Full ground stop at YYZ now according to @flying_steve — lots of planes drawing circles in the sky over southern Ontario right now pic.twitter.com/LEMjX4ytK3

— 𝘽𝙧𝙮𝙖𝙣 𝙋𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙪𝙢𝙚 (@BryanPassifiume) December 15, 2022

Things are no better for travellers on the ground waiting for their flights to depart, like one Air Canada passenger who tweeted just after 2 p.m. Thursday that they had been stuck on the tarmac for four hours waiting to take off.

4 hours aboard AC 107 at Toronto Pearson waiting for take off. Endless issues with Airport ground staff we are told.

— Hide A Guy (@Hideaguy) December 15, 2022

As of 1:05 p.m, Thursday, Mississauga had already seen 11 millimetres of precipitation, with forecasts calling for as much as 20 centimetres by the time the storm passes on Friday.

There has been the equivalent of 11 mm of precipitation since Thu 07:00 at "Toronto Pearson Int'l Airport" #ONStorm

— WX Mississauga (@wc_mississauga) December 15, 2022

Even before the storm hit, the airport made preparations by implementing flight restrictions.

Defrost time for the airplanes

— 🐿samori 🐿 (@samorips5) December 14, 2022

While the airport itself sent out a tweet cautioning travellers to check their flights ahead of time.

We always strongly urge all passengers to check their flight status with their airlines, and to plan accordingly. We wish you safe and happy travels! We are doing everything we normally do when there is wintery weather ahead.

— Toronto Pearson (@TorontoPearson) December 15, 2022

But even despite all the warnings, people are expressing frustration on social media over the totally predictable travel chaos now unfolding.

Air Canada + Pearson Airport = Shit Show @AirCanada @TorontoPearson

— Rick Smith (@TheFurredOne) December 15, 2022

A look at both the arrivals and departure board on Pearson's website shows that it is indeed a complete mess right now, with practically every flight in and out of the airport delayed.

So travellers might want to heed all the warnings and take a close look at their flight information before venturing out onto the slippery roads.