Systems outage at Toronto Pearson, other Canadian airports could cause customs delays

A systems outage at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga and other Canadian airports on Friday afternoon is expected to cause some delays for travellers at customs inspection areas, the Canada Border Services Agency says.

The latest outage, similar to several others that have impacted Pearson and other airports in the past few months, comes on what for most airports is one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season.

“There is currently an outage impacting business and traveller systems, including Primary Inspections Kiosks at airports,” the border services agency said in a post to social media just before 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon. “We are working with partners on fixing the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.”

CBSA officials did not specify what airports are impacted.

Toronto Pearson said in a post to social media on Friday afternoon that “CBSA’s Primary Inspection Kiosks in terminals 1 and 3 are currently experiencing a service interruption. Passengers may experience longer-than-normal wait times at customs.”

Earlier this week, a Toronto Pearson spokesperson told INsauga.com they expected Friday to be one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season at Canada’s biggest and busiest airport.

The earlier IT systems outages struck the agency’s primary inspection kiosks inside terminals 1 and 3 at Pearson and at other unspecified Canadian airports.

The incidents led to some delays for travellers.

The Canada Border Services Agency is the federal law enforcement agency responsible for border control, immigration enforcement and customs services at airports in addition to other locations.

(Cover photo: Toronto Pearson Airport X)