Heightened security checks at Toronto's Pearson International Airport caused long delays for the second day in a row but officials said some airlines are adjusting their flight schedules to help ease the congestion.
Trish Krale, spokesperson for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said Monday that Air Canada began consolidating some of its flights to help get travellers to their destinations quicker.
"The air carriers have looked at their schedules to see what sort of tweaks they can make... to try and alleviate some of the delays," Krale told The Canadian Press.
About 40 per cent of flights coming in and out of Pearson have been delayed, according to Flightview.com, a website that tracks air traffic at North American airports.
The extra security measures were put in place after a botched terrorist attack aboard a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit from Amsterdam on Christmas Day. Authorities allege a male suspect was able to get on the flight with an explosive hidden in his pants.
Luckily, the explosive malfunctioned when it was detonated, sparing 278 passengers on board near-certain death.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old suspect from Nigeria, is facing charges in connection with the incident.
The botched bombing convinced security officials to improve on the measures that have already been in place since the September 11 terror attacks.
Now, security personnel have been told to conduct a second search on passengers and their carry-on bags before passing through the gate.
Carry-on changes
Passengers were also told they would no longer be able to bring carry-on luggage or any wheeled bag. They are allowed to bring only a purse, a diaper bag or a laptop.
Krale said the new restriction caused confusion among some passengers who found themselves having to reshuffle their luggage to make everything fit.
"Finding out those limitations when you get there and then having to reshuffle your baggage was certainly adding to some of the confusion and some of the delays," she said.
She said the airport had tried to get the message to travellers over the weekend.
The new security measures will be in place until Transport Canada decides the extra precaution is no longer needed.
"Right now, we're just working through it as best we can, but it's up to Transport (Canada) to put a time frame to it," Krale said. "It's definitely our hope that things will move more smoothly and that seems to be the way it's going so far this morning."
Janet Fabugis-Wolff has been trying to fly to Houston since Saturday, but she remained at Pearson on Monday morning.
"They overbooked the flights, they downsized the plane, and so therefore I couldn't get on," she told CTV Toronto. However, Fabugis-Wolff did manage to make it through customs at noon with her three-year-old son.
About 100 flights to the U.S. were cancelled, and there were also problems with flights arriving from the U.S. But CTV Toronto's Galit Solomon said by 10 a.m., the lineups definitely appeared to be shorter.
She noted that some passengers are getting a full pat-down at two security separate checkpoints, which means removing their belt, coat and shoes.
About 40 officers with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were brought in to help with security checks Sunday night after extensive delays caused chaos at Pearson, according to the Ministry of Transportation.
Pearson International Airport is Canada's busiest airport. Officials say they were expecting 200,000 passengers to pass through Pearson on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28 -- the two busiest travel days of the year.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Galit Solomon
