Canada’s border agency says a cyberattack was not the cause of a partial systems outage that affected the country’s biggest airports on Tuesday, and an investigation is underway.
Toronto Pearson Airport and Montréal-Trudeau International Airport experienced delays at customs, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said. Services have since been restored.
Travellers were processed manually, but resources were made available to minimize wait times, the agency told CTV News.
The extent of the outage was unclear.
Officials at Toronto’s Pearson Airport said inspection kiosks at Terminals 1 and 3 were impacted, but are now operational. Passengers may experience longer-than-normal wait times at customs, the airport posted on X.
Toronto Pearson Airport experienced border delays. (Diana Lisney / Handout)Diana Lisney, a traveller arriving from Dublin, Ireland, with her partner, says people are disgruntled waiting in excessively long lines.
“One man behind me [said] he will never set foot in this godforsaken airport again,” she said in an email to CTV News from the airport.
Ottawa International Airport was not affected by the outage.
“CBSA agents are processing passengers, and everything appears to be going well so far with no delays,” the airport told CTV News Ottawa in an emailed statement.
Montréal-Trudeau International Airport said it has not been severely impacted. However, delays may be expected.
“Technicians are currently assessing, and a contingency plan has been deployed, enabling passengers to be processed, but obviously with a longer-than-usual delay,” a spokesperson told CTV News Montreal.