ATLANTA — In an effort to prevent a repetition of the travel mayhem experienced earlier this year, Canada’s largest airport says it will provide travellers with a means to skip lengthy security lines as it prepares for a winter travel surge.
Toronto Pearson International Airport on Thursday announced the launch of YYZ Express, which will allow customers on select flights to reserve their security screening spot in advance.
According to Deborah Flint, chief executive of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, which runs Pearson, having a timeslot reserved in advance could lessen some of the anxiety associated with travelling via airport.
“Passengers feel anxiety when they are travelling, and one of the first steps that causes that anxiety is how long the security line is going to be,” said Flint.
At either of the airport’s terminals, she explained, travellers can reserve a spot for themselves or groups of up to 10 people on the majority of domestic and international flights, and they will be transported to the speedy security line.
But visitors must show up within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
The program comes after a summer of delays and flight cancellations, where Pearson had the world’s worst record on delayed flights, according to tracking service FlightAware.
As airports and airlines across Canada struggled to deal with a significant uptick in travel this summer, Pearson was the only major airport in the world to have more than half of its flight departures delayed in July. This was because of staffing issues that led to flight cancellations, baggage delays, and never-ending lines.
The airport’s track record has since improved.
During the week of October 10 to 17, according to the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, 89% of passengers passed through security in less than 15 minutes.
Since many families will be getting together for the holidays for the first time since before the pandemic, Flint said the airport is preparing for a busy winter travel season as winter travel picks up.
As it has had several months to react to the increased travel demand, the airport is maintaining a focus on worker retention and recruiting, reducing some of the particular issues faced this summer.
As a global industry, we are still in recovery, the truth is, said Flint. “Holiday travel does always have its fair share of challenges. ”
The border crossing for the United States is one of the biggest risks the airport is now facing.
-bound passengers, as Nexus lines remain closed and officer staffing levels remain low, said Flint.
A comparable technology, known as YYC Express, was first launched by Calgary International Airport earlier this year.
Before a spike in travel, Toronto Pearson Airport announces a new initiative to reduce security wait times.
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