Delays and “scavenger hunt to find luggage” plague Mississauga’s Pearson Airport
Published August 19, 2021 at 3:28 am
After several days of complaints, Mississauga’s Pearson Airport has acknowledged that international passenger arrivals could face delays of up to three hours.
The airport says it is working with all the airlines, Health Canada and the Canadian Borders Service Agency to quickly get travelers off their planes, retrieving their luggage, passing through the proper health channels and checked at customs.
The delays have been caused by the influx of passengers due to the loosening of restrictions on incoming international flights combined with ensuring that proper COVID-related health screenings are followed.
Tonight (August 18), both the airport and travelers said wait times were even longer than what has been experienced earlier in the week.
Several arriving passengers took to social media to vent their frustrations.
Videos
“I have to let you know that after you have waited on your plane for an hour-and-a-half to two hours, you have to come down and try to find your baggage on the floor,” said Remi Miltchin in a video posted on Twitter. “You have to do a scavenger hunt to find your baggage.”
Other posts on social media showed pictures of crowded hallways and hundreds of pieces of luggage that had been taken off the conveyer and left on the floor for their owners to collect.
Meanwhile, Pearson is telling people that strict COVID measures are in place and to stay away from airport terminals unless you are a same-day traveler or an airport employee on duty.
As well, to avoid further congestion, if you headed to the airport to pick somebody up you can wait in the designated cellphone waiting area at no charge.
(Photo: from arah@smartsarah007 via Twitter)
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