Pace picks up at Toronto Pearson Airport as busy holiday travel season arrives

As busy as Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga has been the past few days as the holiday travel season unfolds, things are about to get even busier.

Officials at Canada’s biggest and busiest airport said peak travel days between now and Jan. 5 could see as many as 171,000 people making their way through Pearson’s terminals on those days (usually the dates around Christmas Day and New Year’s Day).

The period from mid-December until a few days after New Year’s Day represents one of the busiest times of the year at Pearson and other airports across Canada.

In total, more than 3.2 million travellers are expected to pass through the gates at Toronto Pearson over the next two to three weeks. Some 973,000 people are anticipated to use the airport this week alone.

And the traveller numbers, already up since Monday, are expected to be even greater starting Friday, Toronto Pearson Airport spokesperson Sean Davidson told INsauga.com in an interview.

With elementary and high schools letting students out on Dec. 19 for the annual two-week Christmas break, many of them will accompany their families as they get out of town on that day and the days to quickly follow to visit family or sunnier/warmer vacation destinations.

Flying through Toronto Pearson? The airport is busy at different times of the day depending on where you’re flying to. Check out our live wait times dashboard before heading to the airport. https://t.co/2wnfbReUDO pic.twitter.com/LSeotApuoA

— Toronto Pearson (@TorontoPearson) December 17, 2025

Now several years past the COVID-19 pandemic that greatly reduced air travel numbers at Pearson, across Canada and around the world, the numbers continue to rebound to more normal levels.

Davidson said Pearson is a bit busier this holiday season compared to last year, adding growing numbers of people are booked on domestic flights to locations such as Vancouver and Calgary and on international flights to sunny hot spots that include Cancun, Mexico and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Beyond the numbers, the Toronto Pearson spokesperson said one of the airport’s goals is to help travellers have a stress-free experience and ensure their vacations “start at the airport.”

Live piano concerts, a family movie lounge in Terminal 1 and on-site Santa Claus sightings are among the comforts Pearson seeks to provide for travellers.

Typically during the busiest travel periods of the year, Pearson has also increased staffing levels, placed more volunteers throughout the airport to assist passengers and added “greater system resiliency to our baggage system,” the airport has said in past years.

And one piece of advice airport officials always offer, particularly during the busiest seasons of the year, is for travellers to plan ahead, always keep an eye on the weather and check with their airlines before heading to Pearson to make sure flights are on time.

Travellers are also encouraged to check with their specific airline for information on what can and cannot be brought on board flights inside luggage.

(Cover photo: Toronto Pearson Airport)