Travellers will move through Pearson Airport in Mississauga faster with return of NEXUS centres

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Published March 21, 2023 at 9:42 am

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Travellers will soon be able to move through Pearson Airport in Mississauga and other Canadian airports much faster thanks to the reopening of NEXUS enrolment centres across the country.

As of Monday (March 20), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced, NEXUS applicants can book the required interviews at Pearson and most other Canadian airports.

NEXUS cards provide travellers with a faster, more streamlined trip across the Canada/U.S. border.

Enrolment centres will first reopen on March 27 at airports in Halifax and Winnipeg followed by other airports on a near-weekly basis through the end of April.

The NEXUS enrolment centre at Pearson will reopen to travellers on April 24.

The centres were closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have remained closed due, in part, to a diplomatic dispute over legal protections for American customs officers, which has created a huge backlog in applications.

The reopening of the centres will greatly benefit air travellers, the CBSA says.

“This will both expand the program’s capacity and help the thousands of travellers who request NEXUS memberships each month get their cards faster,” the CBSA said in a news release.

Travellers seeking a NEXUS card must go in for an enrolment centre interview held by both Canadian and U.S. officials before being granted one.

The U.S. reopened its 13 NEXUS centres last April to allow the joint interview process to continue as normal. But American authorities insisted Canada grant its agents the same legal protections they enjoy on U.S. soil before returning to Canadian NEXUS centres, which Ottawa refused to consider.

Conditionally-approved NEXUS applicants and renewing members who must be interviewed will be able to book the Canadian portion of their interview via the Trusted Traveller Programs system at various Canadian airports as interview slots become available.

–with files from The Canadian Press

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