Sean Davidson

March Break travel is underway at Toronto Pearson. ✈️ Here are some helpful tips to have a smooth journey through the airport.

The first of today’s 133,526 travellers are making their way through the terminals as we prepare for 458 arrivals and 460 departures. Of those flights, 310 will arrive from and depart to airports across Canada, with a two-way tie for the busiest domestic route between Vancouver (YVR) and Calgary (YYC), with 40 flights each. Weather-wise, we’re trading yesterday’s double-digit temperatures for thunderstorms today, with the forecast showing the potential for lightning and rain throughout the day. When lightning strikes within eight kilometres of the airport, our lightning warning system activates to alert employees working outdoors that it’s time to seek shelter indoors.

Attention NEXUS passengers: The NEXUS/Global Entry lane is currently unavailable at U.S. Preclearance. Travellers are encouraged to use the Mobile Passport Control app to help expedite processing with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP).

It’s been a snowy, icy morning at the airport, with 1.4 centimetres of accumulation so far. Aircraft are moving through the Central Deicing Facility for treatment before departure. Here’s a look at an Ethiopian Airlines A350 being deiced ahead of takeoff.

We are closely monitoring today’s forecast wintry storm that could bring snow, ice and rain to the Greater Toronto Area, including the airport. Our crews are standing by to treat runways, taxiways and the apron if ice develops and are ready to deploy plows to clear critical areas if freezing rain turns to snow. Our Central Deicing Facility is fully operational and ready to deice aircraft prior to departure. Traffic Management Initiatives are also in place to help ensure aircraft can move safely and efficiently throughout the day. If you are travelling, check your flight status before leaving for the airport and allow extra time for road conditions.

That’s a lot of deicing. While it adds time to each flight, it’s critical to ensuring safe operations.

Toronto Pearson is breaking records this year at its Central Deicing Facility. January was the busiest month in the airport's history, with a record 6,000 aircraft deiced. It's been an exceptionally bustling season for our teams, and winter isn’t over yet. So far, more than 16,800 planes have been deiced — already surpassing the typical annual total of 16,500 and marking an increase of over 4,000 aircraft compared to the same point last year.

Forty-six centimetres in one day, and cleared in 24 hours!❄️✈️ Drifting and blowing snow increased accumulations in some areas, putting people, planning and equipment to the test. This is when the Pearson Snow Fighters deliver. Our high-performance snow blowers, each powered by a 1,000-horsepower blower engine, can move massive volumes of snow every hour, throwing it more than 100 metres. This is the scale and precision required to keep Canada’s largest airport and one of North America’s busiest airports moving safely. Through expertise, coordination and relentless teamwork, the airfield, apron and groundside areas were cleared safely and efficiently - an outstanding effort by the teams who delivered under extreme conditions and whose skill and commitment kept the airport moving.

Severe weather continues to impact flight operations with 41cm of snow accumulation at Toronto Pearson as of 7 p.m. Air traffic management initiatives remain in effect to ensure the safe movement of aircraft. Crews continue snow clearing operations on runways, taxiways, and apron areas. We are working with our airline partners to support operations and advise passengers to check their flight status directly with their airline before travelling to the airport.

Today’s snow removal at Toronto Pearson Airport ❄️✈️

Here's a look at snow clearing operations on the apron at Terminal 1.   Our teams use front-end loaders to load large volumes of snow into inground and portable snow melters. This process enables us to keep critical apron surfaces cleared of snow to support airport operations.

Passengers are advised to check their flight status with their airline before coming to the airport as the winter weather is impacting flight operations, and schedules may change throughout the day. Air traffic management initiatives are in place to ensure the safe movement of aircraft. Snow-clearing crews are actively out clearing runways, taxiways, and apron areas. Teams are operating continuous snowplow rotations to keep approximately 5 million square metres of airfield surfaces clear. Departing aircraft will be routed through the Central Deicing Facility prior to takeoff. We will continue to provide operational updates throughout the day.

It’s a bitterly cold morning on the airfield, with temperatures at -13°C but feeling like -22°C with the windchill. Departing aircraft are moving through the Central Deicing Facility, where deicing operations are underway. Today, we’re expecting 121,212 travellers to move through the terminals, with approximately 60 per cent travelling through Terminal 1. Today’s traveller breakdown: • Terminal 1: 70,871 • Terminal 3: 50,341 In these extreme cold conditions, outdoor crews must take more frequent warming breaks to limit exposure. While this can slow some airfield operations, it is essential to protect the health and safety of everyone working outside.

Conditions are improving after more than 20cm of snow fell at Toronto Pearson. Our crews continue to make loops of the airfield to remove snow from runways, taxiways, and aprons so aircraft can safely arrive and depart. Passengers are advised to check their flight status before coming to the airport, as some arriving and departing flights continue to be impacted. More than 130 aircraft have gone through the Central Deicing Facility so far, with more expected to move through this afternoon. Here’s a look at aircraft moving through deicing operations:

Snow continues to fall at the airport with 12 cm recorded as of 9 a.m. Traffic Management Initiatives remain in place to ensure the safe arrival and departure of aircraft. Here's a look at our airfield this morning and some of the snow clearing operations underway at Terminal 1. Please check your flight status with your airline and allow for extra time to get to the airport if your travelling today.

Snow continues to fall at the airport, and our airfield teams are out keeping critical areas clear so planes can take off and land.   As of 10 a.m., approximately 3 cm of snow has fallen so far today. Our team will stay out on the airfield clearing snow to ensure the safe arrival and departure of aircraft.

It's a snowy morning at the airport, with the forecast calling for up to 10 cm of snow, mainly falling over the next few hours before tapering off to light flurries this afternoon. Our crews at the Airfield Maintenance Facility are ready to plow runways, taxiways and apron areas to keep them safe for operations, while teams at the Central Deicing Facility are gearing up to deice aircraft. It’s expected to be a busy morning, with all departing flights heading to the facility for a spray before takeoff. A traffic management initiative is in place to help regulate the flow of departing aircraft. Travellers are encouraged to check their flight status before coming to the airport.

We’re monitoring the weather as rain and freezing rain move across the Greater Toronto Area. While we don’t anticipate major disruptions to operations from today’s weather, please check your flight status before coming to the airport and allow extra time on the roads when travelling to Pearson. Our crews at the Airfield Maintenance Facility are our keeping runways, taxiways, and aprons safe for operations. Aircraft departing Pearson today may pass through our Centralized Deicing Facility before takeoff. We’ll continue to post operational updates as necessary on X throughout the day.

We’re monitoring the weather as snow continues to fall across the Greater Toronto Area, with forecasts calling for up to 15 cm of accumulation. Our teams at the Airfield Maintenance Facility are actively clearing runways, taxiways and aprons to keep flights moving safely. If you’re flying out of Pearson today, your aircraft will pass through our Centralized Deicing Facility before departure. Please check your flight status before coming to the airport and allow extra time on the roads when travelling to Pearson. We’ll continue to post operational updates on X throughout the day.

The snow has stopped and the traffic management initiative is wrapping up soon after 10 cm was recorded at the airport this morning. Crews spent the morning making continuous loops of the airfield, clearing snow from runways, taxiways and aprons to ensure safe arrivals and departures. So far this month, 26 cm of snow has been recorded at the airport — the highest December snowfall since 2021, with more than a week of the month still to go. If you’re flying in or out of Pearson today, make sure to check your flight status before coming to the airport. Here’s a look at one of the apron areas at Terminal 1 this morning: