delays at customs at YYZ

[Donald - my hero]

Very current (as in YESTERDAY, January 16th) Terminal 3 :
-Stopped to print out boarding passes & luggage tag for the bag, stuck it on the suitcase

-Showed our boarding passes & passports to a couple of WestJet agents who pointed us to a spot to fling our checked bag (up into a scanner it looked like to me?)

-Walked thru the line towards what we *thought* was the customs hallway --- nope, they've changed it up
Security check happens first now so, dang, be ready with your liquids out, laptop ready, shoes undone ...

That was the real change up for us since last January -- the two processes swapped places. Security first, THEN Customs so be ready if you're still expecting the same order ... it was extremely quiet when we went thru --no idea why -- but it took maybe 10 minutes for security and then MAX of 5 minutes to go thru customs hall. There were NO lines anywhere in the airport. This was a Monday at noon-ish?

 

[starvenger]

It's one thing to read about the changes. Another to experience it for the first time, because we've been used to a certain process for so long.

When I did this last May it was a nightmare... for my colleagues who didn't have NEXUS.

...And it goes without saying - enjoy your vacation!
(you are on vacation, right?)

 

[grantclaire]

Very current (as in YESTERDAY, January 16th) Terminal 3 :
-Stopped to print out boarding passes & luggage tag for the bag, stuck it on the suitcase

-Showed our boarding passes & passports to a couple of WestJet agents who pointed us to a spot to fling our checked bag (up into a scanner it looked like to me?)

-Walked thru the line towards what we *thought* was the customs hallway --- nope, they've changed it up
Security check happens first now so, dang, be ready with your liquids out, laptop ready, shoes undone ...

That was the real change up for us since last January -- the two processes swapped places. Security first, THEN Customs so be ready if you're still expecting the same order ... it was extremely quiet when we went thru --no idea why -- but it took maybe 10 minutes for security and then MAX of 5 minutes to go thru customs hall. There were NO lines anywhere in the airport. This was a Monday at noon-ish?

Thanks for the update! One question? did you still have to go up to the counter?

 

[Donald - my hero]

Thanks for the update! One question? did you still have to go up to the counter?

Which "counter"? We used the machines sitting in the terminal to print our baggage tags & boarding passes -- no counter.

Stuck the tags on ourselves and wheeled the bag over the the person who was *helping* (loosely use that word!) hoist them onto the belt

 

[grantclaire]

Which "counter"? We used the machines sitting in the terminal to print our baggage tags & boarding passes -- no counter.

Stuck the tags on ourselves and wheeled the bag over the the person who was *helping* (loosely use that word!) hoist them onto the belt

You used to take your bags to the ticket agent who would weight them, great if you can now go straight to a "bag drop". Thanks again!

 

[Donald - my hero]

I noticed there were still some people using this method but i have NO idea why you would voluntarily use the counter unless you have an aversion to the machines sitting literally EVERYWHERE. I had paid for the bag before we left home, just needed to get the actual tag and stick it on. No-one even approached us to weigh it but i seem to recall there were scales close to the self-baggage drop... perhaps someone else who has been recently can chime in on this.

 

[starvenger]

I only go to the counter if there's some sort of issue with my ticket and it tells me to go there. If the machine doesn't work you end up losing maybe 5 minutes at worst.

 

[candygirl75]

We were not connecting through Pearson but we got stuck in the "holding" area for about 20 or 30 minutes during March Break last year. We didn't know why we were there. We asked and discovered that they were waiting for one more bag to come through. What happened is we checked 3 bags online but left bag number 3 on our porch (oops). We got worried about getting the two checked bags we did have through the baggage tagging process since we now had to wait for my dad to get our bag and deliver it to the airport (we only live 10 min away thankfully). So we decided to carry on bag #3 which was carry on sized. Since our count of checked bags didn't match the online check in count, we were pulled into the holding area. If we hadn't asked and explained what happened, who knows how long we would have been there! Lesson learned... make sure all the bags get in the car . And when in doubt, ask.