Fewer flights will take off and land under new plan at Pearson Airport in Mississauga

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Published February 28, 2023 at 9:49 am

Airplane fire had a flight forced to return to Pearson Airport in Mississauga, Ontario

Pearson Airport in Mississauga is planning to dramatically reduce the number of incoming and outgoing commercial flights during peak travel times in an effort to prevent the traveller chaos that plagued Canada’s busiest airport for much of 2022.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which runs Pearson, plans to make the move in time for the next busy travel period, March Break.

The reduction in number of flights, in which flights will be capped during any given hour during peak travel times, is expected to continue into the busy summer season, according to the GTAA.

The move comes as Pearson continues to recover from a 2022 characterized by chaos, at times, inside its terminals as tens of thousands of daily travellers dealt with delayed or cancelled flights, huge lineups and lost/delayed luggage.

The problems hit their peak during the busy summer season in 2022 and the most recent difficult time at the airport came this past December, during the busy Christmas travel season.

Airport officials have said they’re confident the troubles are behind them and that systems are now in place to move the tens of millions of travellers each year through Pearson much more smoothly.

Canada’s Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, also MP for Mississauga Centre, has also come under fire for the situation at Pearson and other major Canadian airports.

He, too, has indicated that the situation has already improved at the airports, specifically Pearson, and that things will continue on that path.

At one point during the particularly difficult summer travel season in 2022, Pearson was identified in an international survey as the worst major airport in the world for delays.

Other measures planned at Pearson in the coming weeks and months include capping during any given hour the number of passengers that can arrive internationally or depart to the U.S.

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