75% of travellers satisfied with Pearson Airport in Mississauga, poll shows

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Published June 21, 2023 at 11:39 am

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An embattled Pearson Airport in Mississauga is fighting back against what it suggests has been overblown media and public criticism related to travellers’ frustrating experiences at Canada’s biggest and busiest airport the past year or so.

A new poll conducted on behalf of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which runs Pearson, shows that 75 per cent of travellers through the airport in the past year “are satisfied with their experience.”

Widespread media reports and data from aviation industry sources in the past 12 months, though, have indicated the situation may not have been that rosy.

Pearson has faced scathing criticism in the past year-plus in both media and aviation circles since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted and air travel significantly picked up once again in Canada and worldwide.

Criticism hit its height last summer and again during the holiday season this past December when travellers quickly returned to the air in unexpectedly large numbers.

In summer 2022, Pearson Airport was consistently ranked among the world’s worst airports for delayed/cancelled flights and huge lineups inside terminals. Lost and temporarily misplaced luggage was also a source of frustration for many travellers as they made their way through Pearson.

GTAA officials said earlier this year that significant improvements have been and will continue to be made at Pearson to make the experience for travellers much smoother.

And Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra has also promised, both late last year and earlier in 2023, that fixes are fast coming for Pearson and other Canadian airports.

Both Alghabra and the GTAA say the situation at Pearson is considerably better now than it was in 2021 and 2022.

Pearson officials point to the latest poll, conducted by Toronto-based market researcher Pollara Strategic Insights, as evidence that not only has the situation improved in recent months, but that it wasn’t as bad as media reports made it out to be in 2022.

“Despite news coverage of airport lineups last summer and winter storm delays over the holidays, most Canadians who have travelled through Pearson feel good about their experience,” said Dan Arnold, Pollara’s chief strategy officer.

The Pollara findings, which come from an online survey of 2,000 adult Canadians conducted from April 19 to 27 this year, show that “when Canadians are asked how they feel about Pearson Airport, impressions run neutral to positive, with over three times more people feeling positive (38 per cent) than negative (11 per cent) toward the airport.”

GTAA officials further note the poll indicates that “among those travelling through Pearson over the past year, positive sentiment runs 17 points higher, with no increase in negative feelings.”

According to Pollara, positive feelings among Pearson visitors “are partly being driven by increased usage of new digital tools at the airport, including a live wait times dashboard, interactive digital maps and YYZ Express. At least eight in 10 users of these digital tools report a good experience, and the majority of users say they are likely to use them again.”

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