95% in 10 minutes: our security-screening goal

Meeting the 95/10 goal will require significant investment in new security technologies such as facial recognition and biometrics, as well as continued collaboration among the various government agencies who help facilitate the flow of outbound passengers at Toronto Pearson. We recognize that human resources are constrained by the current fiscal and staffing policies of the federal government. Still, by sharing ideas and working together, we’re making progress.

A case in point is the CATSA Plus initiative, which deploys redesigned security lanes to help passengers proceed more quickly to their gates while ensuring a safe, secure screening process. Introduced in mid-2017 in the U.S. departures area of Terminal 1, CATSA Plus was subsequently launched in Terminal 3 at the beginning of 2018. We then undertook a phased implementation in the domestic and international areas of Terminal 1 through the rest of the year and into early 2019.

CATSA Plus has proven to be highly effective in processing passengers efficiently, yielding more than double the throughput of standard CATSA screening lanes. We’re confident that these investments in faster, higher-volume checkpoints, combined with efforts to harmonize processes such as trusted traveller screening to the U.S. – as well as our continued cost-recovery partnership with CATSA – will enable us to move steadily closer toward our 95/10 goal.

58 U.S. customs kiosks

Most passengers flying from Toronto Pearson to the U.S. can use 58 self-service Automated Passport Control kiosks, reducing the time they spend interacting with United States Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) officers. (In addition, members of the Nexus and Global Entry trusted traveller programs can use 47 Global Entry kiosks in both terminals to pre-clear U.S. Customs.)

66 self-service baggage drops

We added another 10 self-service baggage drops in 2018, bringing the total for both terminals to 66. A dozen airlines carrying more than 80 per cent of Toronto Pearson passengers benefit from this automated system.

338 convenient check-in kiosks

To optimize flow, we continue to encourage both passengers and airlines to take advantage of self-service check-in kiosks, adding another 43 in the past year for a total of 338. We’ve also increased the number of accessibly designed kiosks from 30 to 83. Automated check-in is now available with 22 carriers, up from 17 in 2017.

E-gates in Terminal 1

In June 2018, we introduced four electronic gates on the bridge connecting domestic and U.S./international gates in Terminal 1. Now passengers simply scan their own boarding passes rather than having them checked by operations representatives – which helps them move more easily through the airport while enabling us to deploy valuable human resources elsewhere.

Making customs easier

We’ve also adopted the 95/10 standard as our objective for processing inbound passengers through immigration and customs in collaboration with the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). In 2018, we continued to add primary inspection kiosks in Terminal 3; up to 98 per cent of all arriving passengers can now use the 150 available kiosks to clear CBSA checkpoints.

At the same time, in Terminal 1 we’ve expanded the Automated Border Clearance program for Canadian citizens and U.S. passport holders, increasing the number of kiosks to more than 50. (In addition, Toronto Pearson has 30 Nexus kiosks for passengers in the joint U.S./Canada trusted traveller program.)

The International-to-Domestic Passenger and Baggage Connections Program – known as ITD – enables passengers arriving from designated European and U.S. cities to proceed directly to domestic connecting flights without having to collect and recheck their luggage; instead, they retrieve their bags at their final Canadian destination. In 2018, we enhanced ITD in Terminal 1, extending it to more European origin cities, as well as Air Canada flights from Japan. We also expanded the program in Terminal 3 for WestJet passengers. ITD connection times are shorter – in many cases facilitated by buses that carry international passengers directly to their domestic departure gates – and the smooth-flowing process has prompted favourable feedback from passengers.

Following a similar strategy, in 2018 we collaborated with CBSA on a pilot project called I-to-I – for International-to-International – installing 35 kiosks for passengers who arrive in Terminal 1 from outside Canada and are connecting on the same day to other international (non-U.S.) destinations. Instead of interacting with CBSA officers, these connecting passengers simply scan their passports at I-to-I kiosks and proceed to their departure gates. Those who do need to be rechecked are processed through special pre-board screening lanes. Over 600,000 passengers took advantage of I-to-I in 2018, which significantly reduced connection times while helping to streamline traffic in other CBSA processing areas.