Sault man calls Toronto airport chaos 'sheer hell'

A Sault Ste. Marie man says more needs to be done to rectify ongoing flight delays and cancellations at Toronto Pearson International Airport after going through hours upon hours of “sheer hell” trying to get back home. 

Rick Fall — who completed a three-and-a-half month run spanning more than 3,800 kilometres from British Columbia to the Sault to raise funds and awareness for Make-A-Wish Canada and Childhood Cancer Canada last summer — said his Air Canada flight from Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie was delayed and subsequently cancelled before he was offered a flight scheduled to depart nearly three days later. 

His May 28 flight from Vancouver, B.C. to Toronto went ahead as planned, but when Fall arrived at Toronto Pearson that evening, a wrench was thrown into his plans to fly back to the Sault at 8:55 p.m. following an hour-and-a-half layover.   

“The lounge was just packed. I sat around, and then they said the flight was delayed 50 minutes,” he said, describing the airport as “crowded and crazy.” 

At 9:20 p.m., travellers were informed that the flight — the last one to the Sault that evening — had been cancelled.

“People were just sitting around there in disbelief,” he said.

A diabetic woman heading to the Sault had to be attended to by paramedics because her insulin was packed away in her luggage, Fall said, while another woman was in need of formula for her child. 

“All her infant formula was in her checked luggage,” he recalled. “Here she is with this infant child, nowhere to go.” 

Fall and four other travellers bound for Sault Ste. Marie attempted to rent vehicles around midnight, but the group was informed there were no rentals in Toronto for the next couple of days. The group also struck out in a bid to find hotel rooms. 

Eventually, two people in the group made plans to meet their ride to the Sault by catching a train to Barrie, Ont.

Fall and the other two people in the group, meanwhile, decided to travel back home by bus. They ended up booking an Ontario Northland bus that was scheduled to leave Toronto at 8:30 a.m. Sunday and arrive in the Sault at 10 p.m. that night. 

Fall’s wife picked them up in Sudbury instead, eventually arriving back home around 6 p.m. Sunday — nearly 24 hours after Fall’s flight to the Sault was cancelled. 

“It was a long ordeal,” he said.

Fall is still waiting for compensation from Air Canada after submitting a claim with the airline, adding that the delays and cancellations causing congestion at the airport most likely stem from labour shortages.  

“I’m not sure what they can do. They’re lacking skilled people to handle the situation,” he said. 

Fall and seven family members will be flying to British Columbia this summer, but he says that they won’t be flying between Sault Ste. Marie and Toronto due to a slew of horror stories of flights being delayed or cancelled. 

Not to mention his own hellish experience. 

"We’re taking it safe and driving down,” he said.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority — the organization that runs Toronto Pearson International Airport — has called on the federal government to help alleviate major delays affecting passengers at security and clearance points amid a shortage of staff.

The organization says Ottawa needs to make investments to boost staffing levels and bring in more technology, as well as "streamline or eliminate" COVID-19 public health requirements to deal with the issue. 

- with files from The Canadian Press