American traveling through Canada on to London?

[Birdie dog]

Hi all, I'm not Canadian ( I actually live in Charleston, SC ) but I'm hoping you can help me.

I'm flying to London next summer for a cruise and since I have to go through hub city, I've included Toronto in my searches. The prices out of Canada are excellent, and they have some non stops. Flying from CHS- to Toronto are reasonable also.

Can anyone advise me on how difficult it would be to fly CHS-Toronto-London? Will I have problems with immigration? Is the airport a zoo?

Any advice would be very appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[ccudmore]

Glad to help out. Toronto Pearson airport is a large modern hub airport. Terminal 1 is about 10 years old and is huge. You'll likely ending up crossing the airport but there's moving sidewalks and some shopping along the way. Terminal 3 (there's no Terminal 2 any more) is smaller and a bit older but still easy to navigate. The airport is way more efficient than places like Newark, Chicago or Atlanta. It can get busy at times but it's orderly. The only times I've seen it a "zoo" is when there's bad weather and flights get cancelled but you'll get that anywhere.

Chances are you'll be flying through Terminal 1 as it's Air Canada (and the Star Alliance) hub terminal.

As for immigration, I think you'll clear Canadian customs and immigration and then go back through security to get to your London flight. On the way back you'll pre-clear US customs in Toronto and your flight will arrive in CHS as a U.S. domestic flight so you won't have to worry about customs there.

Hope you enjoy your trip.