Toronto’s Pearson Airport Fines Poorly Performing Baggage-Handling Companies

Luggage bags are amassed in the bag claim area at Toronto Pearson International Airport, as a major winter storm disrupts flights in and out of the airport, in Toronto. on Dec. 24, 2022. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press)

A new policy at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport includes penalties for contractors that fail to meet service standards, including baggage handling.

During last summer’s travel surge, baggage halls overflowed at Pearson, and passengers were often stuck on the tarmac for more than an hour. A September poll by J.D. Power found Pearson ranked among the lowest in customer satisfaction when compared to other airports of a similar size in Canada and the United States.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which runs Pearson, updated its rules and regulations for contractors on May 6. It has begun charging companies for non-compliance, GTAA chief executive Deborah Flint first told The Globe and Mail. A GTAA spokesperson confirmed this in an email to The Epoch Times.

“We’re looking to change behaviour,” Flint said.

The airport has issued about $130,000 in fines thus far, the spokesperson said. The GTAA doesn’t call them “fines,” but rather uses the legal term “liquidated damages,” said the spokesperson. They are calculated on the level of impact the company’s delays are having on the system, and on the estimated cost associated with failing to meet expected service levels.

The GTAA’s rules for contractors set time limits for how long it should take to deliver baggage either to connecting flights or to the carousel for passenger pick-up. The time ranges from 30 to 50 minutes depending on the size of the flight and other factors.

The rules do allow for extenuating circumstances, such as emergency events or delays beyond the contractor’s control.

The airport has three airlines that hire their own baggage handlers: American, Delta, and Air Canada. The rest use four licensed contractors: ATS, Menzies, Swissport, and GTA dnata.

Pearson has not invoiced the airlines that hire their own handlers for liquidated damages, the spokesperson said. “But they and all airside operators are still held to the same service-level standards contained in our ground operations manual.”

The spokesperson added that “GTAA is looking at using liquidated damages to influence behaviour elsewhere at the airport.”

GTAA also announced in May that it has bolstered staffing and made technological improvements ahead of this summer’s rush.

Pearson has about 10,000 new employees, an increase of 22 percent since last summer. That includes the hiring of 130 new staff in May to help with baggage handling, busing, and terminal operations.

Artificial intelligence is now helping with baggage at Pearson as well. An AI system detects potential breakdowns in the baggage system before they occur.

GTAA says biometric e-gates are expediting customs clearance.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include comments from a GTAA spokesperson.