lenaitch
Senior Member
Regional shuttles and limos pay a transponder-based per-entry fee.
I arrived from Paris yesterday to find the T1 immigration hall packed with more people than I’ve ever seen. The Canada/US side had a huge backup of people who had checked in at a kiosk and were waiting to get out. They formed a line in the kiosk area that basically took up all remaining space as it wove around. I didn’t time how long it took to clear immigration, but my guess is that this was the worst I’ve ever seen at YYZ, and I travel a lot. Funnily enough, my daughter said the same thing about her arrival from DC on Tuesday. On the plus side, our luggage had arrived at the carousel and been unloaded by the time we made it to baggage claim.
It's pretty obvious the GTA needs another true international airport, whether it's building out YHM or building one from scratch at Pickering.
Or expanding it's currently facilities, not these mealy mouth half measures.
Am I correct to believe GTAA has no credible plans to address these issues?
I get the impression that it's less the GTAA than their customers: the airlines. There's no appetite for higher fees to fund more development. Airlines aren't as concerned about crowding as they are fees. Frequent flyers have lounges. So really, it's only the occasional flyer complaining about the crowding. And airlines aren't as motivated to cater to them.
How is Montreal and Vancouver financing their expansions?
Fees.
People forget how the GTAA was accused of building a Taj Mahal when they built T1.
The airlines want to see GTAA debt levels come down and user fees stay flat. This is why they've slowed down to just building a new pier every few years.