Double Disruption Hits Toronto Airport as Border Systems Fail and Air Traffic Capacity Drops

Travelers at Toronto Pearson Airport are facing another potential source of disruption after an outage affecting Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) systems returned, while NAV Canada reported reduced system capacity at the airport.

Toronto Pearson said the disruption affecting CBSA Primary Inspection Kiosks, which had previously been marked as resolved, has recurred.

The CBSA initially confirmed that it was experiencing an outage affecting its systems, including Primary Inspection Kiosks at airports. The agency said it was working with partners to resolve the issue and apologized for the inconvenience.

The renewed kiosk disruption could affect passengers arriving at Toronto Pearson, potentially making border processing more time-consuming while the systems remain unavailable.

NAV Canada Reports Reduced System Capacity

The airport disruption comes alongside a separate operational issue that affected flights at Pearson.

NAV Canada, Canada's air navigation service provider, reported "reduced system capacity" at Toronto Pearson on Monday evening. As a result, a Traffic Management Initiative was put in place to balance demand with the available capacity at the airport.

A Traffic Management Initiative is a standard aviation tool used when the number of flights requiring access to an airport or surrounding airspace needs to be balanced against available operational capacity.

NAV Canada advised passengers traveling from Pearson this evening to check their flight status directly with their airline.

"We regret any impact to travelers," NAV Canada said.

A new update informed the public that "the flow of traffic at YYZ has now returned to normal levels and the NAV CANADA team is continuing to keep everyone moving safely and efficiently. Passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline."

The organization explained that such delays can become necessary to safely balance demand and ensure that airport infrastructure, including runways, taxiways and gates, as well as surrounding airspace and aviation personnel, do not exceed their capacity.