People are now complaining about a lack of lineups at Toronto's Pearson Airport
Anyone planning to jet off from Toronto Pearson International Airport knows by now to arrive many hours prior to their flight — at least two for domestic and three for international, authorities suggest — due to ongoing staffing issues and other delays plaguing the travel hub.
But, amid seemingly endless horror stories from people who've been stuck at check-in, customs, security or even on planes on the tarmac for hours, there is a new set of complaints arising on social media from those who are annoyed that they got to the airport too early and ended up with too much time to kill.
@CP24 I'm live at Pearson airport terminal 3. Zero people at security line. Took 2 minutes. Perhaps other travellers need to know so they don't arrive 3 hours too early like we
— A r L e N e (@princessarlene) May 5, 2022
A select few have indeed been grumbling about the fact that they took the general advice to anticipate huge waits and get to the airport far earlier than they would have pre-COVID, only to get through in a matter of minutes.
made it through airport security in less than 10 min 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 I was so nervous about the lineup chaos at Pearson but the gods are on my side today. Now we have 3+ hours to kill.. is it too early to drink? 😂
— 🌛 jess🌜 (@stayflyjess) June 10, 2022
Some have even been thwarted by airport personnel, arriving too far in advance of their flight to check their bags or go through security screening (or before security was even open for the day).
Ever a rule follower, I arrived at Pearson airport 3hr early only to be told I was *too early* to get in the security line.
— ZJ Hadley (@ZJHadley) May 18, 2022
And others, after getting through quickly and hassle-free, found that so much extra time made for a new set of concerns; common among them, getting too drunk at the airport bar before departure.
@ryanwhitney6 Whit dog, I don't know if they've just made this many changes on account of you. But I showed up at Pearson four hours early for my flight. I got thru in thirty seconds. I now may miss my flight because I get too drunk at the bar with four hours to kill
— KevinMaillouxfanclub (@kevbleeds4us) June 16, 2022
The disparity between the amout of time passengers were told to allot to the process and the actual time spent checking in and getting through checkpoints has been huge in cases, it seems, with some citing that it took just minutes to get through to their gate.
With news of long queues at Toronto’s Pearson, I came to the airport 4 hours early! Guess what? I ended up waiting just about 5 minutes in the one queue that I stood in.🤔 Anyway, time for a good vacation by the Atlantic! 🏖 #torontopearson
— Warren White (@whitetig3r20) June 12, 2022
While many seem irritated, others are staying positive, and rightfully apprecitive of the fact that the airport didn't turn out to be as much of a mess as they'd anticipated, especially when others are missing connecting flights or becoming too scared to even fly via Pearson at all.
We had to wait with our luggage for 2 hrs because you can only check luggage 4 hours prior to your flight.
— ℳcKina✨ (@m_c_k_i_n_a) June 19, 2022
When it came to getting through security and customs - only took 30 minutes lol!
Now we have 3 hrs to waste before our flight. Fun!
Oh well, at least we’re on vacation!
The hilarious non-issue is also extending to Torontonians elsewhere in the world who, used to dealing with the infuriating lines and delays that have become the norm at Pearson, have headed to catch flights at other international airports far too prematurely as well.
Jack Landau
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