Anyone travel thru Pearson recently?

[DisneYE]

Have a trip coming up - In and out of Pearson in mid September

How's the foot traffic nowadays?
Immigration area to the US very busy? Haven't been in a while, not since the new Mr T administration and all the tariff stuff.
Are lines really long? Are officers more strict/inquisitive with this new administration ?

Last time I went thru immigration in Pearson was Sept'24 and it was an absolute zoo. Almost 2 hours line in immigration.
Hope it's better now with all these claims of 'boycotts'

Any feedback is appreciated - TIA

 

[ellbell]

Have a trip coming up - In and out of Pearson in mid September

How's the foot traffic nowadays?
Immigration area to the US very busy? Haven't been in a while, not since the new Mr T administration and all the tariff stuff.
Are lines really long? Are officers more strict/inquisitive with this new administration ?

Last time I went thru immigration in Pearson was Sept'24 and it was an absolute zoo. Almost 2 hours line in immigration.
Hope it's better now with all these claims of 'boycotts'

Any feedback is appreciated - TIA

I'll be there on Sunday so I can let you know

 

[DisneYE]

I'll be there on Sunday so I can let you know

Yes please - And TY!

 

[White Cat]

2 weeks ago, was no problem. Will be again in a few weeks.

 

[SirDuff]

You really need to give the day and time of travel. It can vary so much. Weekday morning flights, for example, tend to be the worst (especially on Mondays).

 

[Silvermist999]

Travelled in mid-July YYZ to MCO for our cruise. Thursday afternoon flight. Security area not unusually busy, barely any lineup at all going through US immigration, maybe 20 people in line with us. We were just asked the usual questions, like where we were going and for how long. Super easy and quick. Our flights there and back were full, no empty seats.

 

[musika]

You really need to give the day and time of travel. It can vary so much. Weekday morning flights, for example, tend to be the worst (especially on Mondays).

Yeah this is definitely true. I also went through Pearson in Sep/24 and it was a ghost town when we pre-cleared mid morning on a Wednesday.

 

[asc]

Also T3 or T1? Assume no GE/Nexus.

 

[DisneYE]

You really need to give the day and time of travel. It can vary so much. Weekday morning flights, for example, tend to be the worst (especially on Mondays).

Mid week, midday, Mid September, T1, no nexus.
I've avoided Pearson (and other airports - MCO/LAX/JFK/etc) as much as I could before because it's such a zoo.
I'm just interested to know how much the recent claims of boycotts by some Canadians are impacting traffic at Pearson.

Also I'm at that stage of my life (GenX) where if airports/stadiums/etc are too crowded or too much of a hassle to go I'd rather stay home, unless it's an emergency or absolutely necessary.

 

[DisneYE]

Yessss!! I love to read this is the case..Should be even more deserted this September due to the supposed 'boycotts' by some Canadians.. thanks for your input.

Yeah this is definitely true. I also went through Pearson in Sep/24 and it was a ghost town when we pre-cleared mid morning on a Wednesday.

 

[Donald - my hero]

If you have the ability/desire to spend a bit longer on the other side of the security/border clearance area just plan on getting to the airport SUPER early and avoid booking the butt-crack-of-dawn o'clock flights. I have severe anxiety in crowds and struggle with lines of any kind - I will leave the grocery store if it's a sea of people at the tills - so we simply arrive around 3 hours before our flight. I also study the departure times for the ENTIRE terminal before booking our flights because if you are getting to the "problem" areas at the same time as multiple flights that depart in the next 60-90 minutes it will be busier with the travellers who think the extra time isn't needed.

The last time we flew out of Pearson was Nov 23rd, 2024 (US Thanksgiving Day) and it took us maybe 15 minutes from entering the airport to drop off our luggage and getting hubby his coffee. It was like a ghost town and because I was uber prepared for the dreaded TSA scanning (I'll explain that if you're interested). Biggest time saver was signing up with the MPC app (Mobile Passport Control) and entering the info before getting to the airport. There were 2 people in the line in front of us while the majority of travellers were in the regular lines. Because we had travelled recently thru MCO and had to use the picture feature while coming home - no way to board the plane without having our picture taken and compared to our passports - all the customs agent did was scan our passports ask what food I had declared (safe allergy food) and wave us thru.

I don't think there will be much noticeable difference in travel numbers in Pearson related to the boycotting travelers (no quotes from me because we ARE part of that group) because it is still a hub for short day trips by business travellers.