Toronto Pearson traveller ‘disheartened’ to see ‘mountains’ of baggage

Toronto Pearson Worldwide Airport has proven indicators of enhancements in current weeks, however a traveller and aviation skilled says he was disheartened to see “mountains” of baggage and triple stacked safety strains on the airport over the weekend.

“What that is telling us is the knowledge that Transport Canada has been touting about how a lot better issues are getting, issues should not getting higher,” Robert Kokonis, president of AirTrav, a world aviation consulting agency, advised CTV Information Toronto.

Mountains of baggage and triple stacked safety strains at Toronto Pearson Worldwide Airport on Aug. 14, 2022 (Robert Kokonis).

On Sunday evening, Kokonis stated, he flew from Halifax to Toronto. When he arrived at Terminal 1’s baggage declare, he noticed a whole bunch of baggage, strollers and walkers lining the ground. He additionally took a take a look at the home safety line, which he stated was 70 metres lengthy.

“To see safety line-ups of that size and people piles of bags was actually disheartening,” he stated.

This follows a stream of optimistic information lately related to the journey hub. Final week, the federal authorities stated that the variety of planes held on the tarmac at Pearson has “decreased dramatically” since early Might.

Just a few weeks earlier, the president of the Larger Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which oversees operations at Pearson, introduced that the journey hub had seen “measurable” operational enhancements in current weeks.

Nonetheless, Kokonis stated it was clear to him whereas he was on the airport that the persistent points this summer season haven’t been resolved.

“Right here we at the moment are, solely about 20 days away from the top of the summer season peak and clearly these points haven’t been solved,” he stated.

GTAA spokesperson Tori Gass stated that airways are liable for delivering luggage to passengers – not the airport.

“We didn’t expertise any points with the bags system yesterday night,” Gass stated.

Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick stated the airline works to attenuate baggage delays, however nonetheless, they do happen for all airways. Particularly, throughout busy journey durations.

“These luggage within the picture should not essentially solely from Air Canada however on information of different airways that function within the terminal. As effectively, they’re from all our operations (home, worldwide and transborder),” Fitzpatrick stated.

“The best way it really works is we consolidate delayed luggage after they clear customs for speedier supply to prospects. We transfer delayed luggage always, and normally they’re despatched to prospects inside 24 to 48 hours.”

He additionally stated it was “pretty typical” for purchasers to journey with cheap strollers and abandon them at their last vacation spot. 

Whereas mountains of baggage and prolonged safety strains have come to represent journey complications this summer season, Kokonis stated that these points merely show a “ripple impact.”

He pointed to ArriveCan app glitches and the necessity to replace know-how at safety to remove the necessity for travellers to take away electronics from their luggage as simply a few examples of urgently wanted enhancements. 

“Principally authorities coverage has pushed these actually important points,” he stated.

“The underside line is that this, we’re doing injury to the Canadian tourism model.”