Toronto Pearson says it’s ready for influx of travelers over holiday season

Toronto’s Pearson International Airport says it’s ready to welcome travellers for one of the busiest travel seasons of the year after after a winter storm disrupted operations last year.

The airport expects to see around 160,000 passengers a day travel through its doors this week alone.

Pearson says they’re anticipating a busy winter with 6 per cent more flights and 10 per cent more passengers compared to the year before.

People are already lining up ready to fly out for the weekend and it looks like most of the flights are on time in Toronto with similar scenes being playing out in Hamilton.

“This is the busiest weekend of the year for travel. We have flights every day including Christmas day and Boxing Day,” says Martina McLaren of John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport.

“We expect to have a thousand to two thousand passengers per day going through the airport, so we’ve done a lot of preparation in advance, a lot of operational plans to make sure travellers can get where they need to go.”

Last year, there were numerous delays, cancellations and baggage backlogs after a major winter storm.

READ MORE: WestJet cancels Friday flights across Canada due to winter storms

There won’t be any big storms this year and Pearson says they’re fully staffed and ready to go.

If you’re expecting to fly this holiday season, see the following tips for making your trip the easiest it can be.

• Be sure to arrive at the airport at least three hours before an international flight and two hours before a domestic flight
• Reserve your parking spot online for a quicker travel experience
• Leave any gifts unwrapped

Pearson also recommends travellers fill out the advanced declaration form and make use of a number of digital tools that keep track of travel updates in real time.

READ MORE: Toronto Pearson taking steps to improve travel ahead of busy winter season