Ontario Woman Says Pearson Airport Was 'Absolute Chaos' After Flying In From South Africa

One Ontario traveller says she had a chaotic journey at Pearson Airport after returning from South Africa earlier this month.

Cynthia Walker, who was visiting her daughter after two years of not seeing each other due to the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed to Narcity that trying to get back home to Rockwood, Ontario, was a multiple-step process that included long wait times, a lack of social distancing and a quarantine hotel.

"I get into Toronto [on December 6] and I get through the customs, and it's chaos. Absolute chaos," Walker said. "Everybody is cheek-to-cheek, there's 3,000 people in the customs where you have those kiosks to put your passport, winding us all the way through — it was just a mob. It took us an hour and a half, so there we are with everybody in the world, not segregated, going through customs."

After customs, she had to go for more COVID-19 testing, as Canada has implemented new travel measures for Canadians and permanent residents returning from South Africa, among several other countries. Here, she waited with other passengers, some of whom were also randomly selected to join the line.

A spokesperson from the Greater Toronto Airports Authority told Narcity that Pearson Airport passengers are expected to socially distance themselves from one another "whenever they're able" and airport staff will enforce it "where applicable." However, that isn't always possible.

"Public Health Agency of Canada, who leads Canada’s public health response to COVID-19, recognizes that physical distancing of 2 metres may not always be possible at Canada’s airports. In these cases, PHAC recommends using a layered approach with multiple protective measures," Beverly MacDonald, a spokesperson for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, told Narcity via email.

MacDonald mentioned that Pearson Airport has been advising flyers for a while about possible delays, and that, at the moment, the wait during "very high peak times" is about two to three hours for arrivals, "which is what we’ve been advising our international arriving passengers to expect."

Pearson said in an email on December 5 that not all international travellers were getting tested "because the government needs more time to put the infrastructure in place."

Courtesy of Cynthia Walker

What it's like quarantining

Walker said she was eventually ushered into a quarantine hotel near Pearson Airport just after 11 p.m. (hours after her 4 p.m. landing time.)

"What was astounding was it seemed like COVID security started the moment they decided we were going to the hotel. It didn't start all through customs, it didn't start through COVID testing — it started at that moment," Walker said, describing the whole experience as right out of a "sci-fi movie."

"Everybody's got gas masks on and hazmat suits," Walker shared, as she recalled what it was like walking into the hotel where they were escorted by security up to their room.

Though she got a detailed code of conduct for her stay at the hotel (which included a breakdown of all of the fines you could face for breaking the rules), she wasn't given many answers for when she would be able to leave.

"We didn't know when we were getting our COVID results. We didn't know when we were going to get out," Walker said.

After Walker said she and her partner "kicked and screamed" and got negative test results back, she was able to leave the hotel three days after checking in — but she described the time that she did there as "absolutely bonkers."

The initial journey from South Africa

This all took place after an arduous journey from South Africa, which Walker said was initially in the "green zone" for COVID-19 when she arrived. According to the federal government, "green zone" countries are those for which the government advises practicing usual travel health measures like routine vaccinations.

"So I felt comfortable going," Walker said. "I did the COVID test before — paid $200 for that 24-hour COVID test — and we had no problems going there."

Trying to get back home to Rockwood, Ontario, was a whole other story.

Originally, her return trip was supposed to take off from Cape Town on the 30th, but, just a few days before on November 26, Omicron was deemed a variant of concern by the World Health Organization.

"They gave only 12 hours, and they shut it down from a green zone to a red zone, so what that meant is I couldn't get on my flight on the 30th. I had to rebook tickets," Walker said. She rescheduled her flight to leave on December 2.

"I tried to call the embassy but there [were] no answers whatsoever. I tried to call KLM but it ran off the hook," Walker said.

"So, since I couldn't get ahold of anybody, I took the flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg."

Walker also said that during her journey, she was barred from stepping foot on her connecting flight to Amsterdam since she was coming from South Africa and there were restrictions ("that was the first time I ever felt that my Canadian passport didn't work for me"), she was stuck at Johannesburg for a few days before snagging a flight to Paris, and she had to dash across the Charles de Gaulle airport for (yet another) COVID-19 test before taking off for Pearson Airport.*

Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.

Health Canada has a robust website with all the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines and can answer any questions you may have.

*This article has been updated.