Pearson so bad that backups are a National Fire Code violation

[Jaydee]

How bad are the backups in the customs halls at Pearson? So bad that the fire chief for Canada’s busiest airport has warned airlines that if they let passengers off before they’re told to, they will be in violation of the National Fire Code.

As a result, all international flights arriving in Toronto must now hold passengers on the plane until they are given specific instructions that they can be released.

Incidents where an airline fails to comply with such an instruction and self-releases its passengers into the passenger terminal can lead to the CBSA Primary Inspection Line being overwhelmed with passengers, with queues backing up onto the Arrivals Transfer level. The ensuing congestion creates safety risks, disrupts other operations in the terminal and on the ramp and worsens the passenger experience,” states the directive.

 

Aitken cited Sec. 2.1.2.2 of the National Fire Code which states, “Activities that create a hazard and that are not allowed for in the original design shall not be carried out in a building.”

 

All of this to say, the customs halls at Pearson are so backed up that they’ve been violating the fire code and have become a safety hazard. In citing “government-mandated processes and agency staffing,” Aitken is showing, once again, that the Trudeau government isn’t telling the truth.

The feds want you to believe that they have no role in this, it’s just the airlines and their scheduling problems, or they claim it’s a staffing issue.

Let’s be clear, as I have been from the beginning, the airlines have things they are responsible for, including the disaster that has become baggage handling, but screening and customs are huge problems that are solely the responsibility of the federal government.

There are two areas of federal responsibility that are contributing to the problems at airports, and they both lead to other delays and problems for airlines and passengers. The feds are responsible for processing international passengers through customs and for security screening of passengers and baggage for passengers leaving Canadian airports like Pearson.

 

Both are a mess and have been for months, dating back to late March, and while it’s true there are problems elsewhere, none have been as persistent or lasted as long as the problems at Pearson. Even other Canadian airports aren’t as bad, though things are getting worse in Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and Calgary.

 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers need to stop blaming slow passengers or bad airlines for things only they can fix.

 

As Aitkens noted, there are staffing issues at Pearson for the Canada Border Services Agency, which is in charge of the customs agents. The union representing those workers has been sounding the alarm on staffing issues for months; they’ve also been calling out the problems 

 

https://torontosun.com/news/national/lilley-passengers-backups-at-pearson-so-bad-they-are-now-a-national-fire-code-violation?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR0F6UoUzn7A2BrW8ge2JoKhmylRZwlPYX_Gd5LHGDgMElCpkm_UPGeXOeE#Echobox=1656903708

Edited July 4, 2022 by Jaydee

[Moon The Loon]

YYZ/Pearson Airport is a HUGE international embarrassment. And has been for decades. I'd take a bus rather than transit YYZ via a flight.

 

[Specs]

On 7/4/2022 at 6:17 AM, Jaydee said:

Let’s be clear, as I have been from the beginning, the airlines have things they are responsible for, including the disaster that has become baggage handling, .....................

Kind of hard to schedule baggage handlers when predicting the actual time flights arrive or leave the gate is more challenging than Whack a Mole.

[Jaydee]

Okanagan woman stranded at Toronto airport for 5 days, loses $10K

Carla Leinweber calls it “the most humiliating, degrading and nightmarish airport, airline treatment” she’s had in her life.

 

On Tuesday, June 14, Leinweber boarded her Air Canada flight from Kelowna, B.C., to Montreal. Originally she was supposed to go from Montreal to Deer Lake, N.L. However, the airline recommended she fly to Toronto Pearson International Airport as she had a higher chance of making her connecting flight to Deer Lake.

Her flight to Deer Lake was cancelled the night of June 14 and the two following days. She spent the next few days stranded with other passengers at Pearson airport while dealing with customer service.

“I was basically in lockdown, hostage position with Air Canada. You’re basically living at the airport,” said Leinweber.

“After the third night, one woman said maybe we need to call RCMP and say we’re stranded.”

Leinweber spent the four days searching for her luggage and trying to book her next flight. She spent two nights in a hotel and the rest sleeping on the airport floor. On Friday morning, she decided to book a flight home through WestJet instead of waiting for a flight to Newfoundland for her vacation. Then the long, frustrating days took a toll on her.

“As I’m waiting in check-in at WestJet counter in Toronto airport, I actually collapsed. I had my cart and my luggage, backpack, cane and purse go flying,” Leinweber said.

She said other passengers and WestJet staff helped picked her up and put her into a wheelchair. In the following days, her leg was covered in bruises.

Not only was the trip emotionally and physically draining, but Leinweber said she also lost over $10,000 in return flights, accommodations and the cancellation of her vacation. She says she was lucky her trip was only a vacation, as those around her had more concerning reasons to be visiting.

“One person was going home because it was her brother’s funeral. A mother and daughter, she hadn’t seen her elderly parents (since) before COVID-19and one of them had health issues. They ended up not visiting their family,” Leinweber said.

Even as an avid traveller, Leinweber doesn’t recommend anyone go on a flight in the near future.

“Don’t fly. Just don’t fly. The most horrendous experience I have ever, ever gone through in an airport or with an airline.”

Leineweber has been in touch with a lawyer and is looking for full monetary reimbursement.

https://globalnews.ca/news/8967118/okanagan-woman-stranded-toronto-airport/

 

[Jaydee]

[Jaydee]

[Guest1]

So Pearson is in good company. 

[boestar]

where's Heathrow.  Its a mess

 

[Jaydee]

41 minutes ago, boestar said:

where's Heathrow.  Its a mess