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Passengers
Our airport served 47.1 million passengers in 2017, a 6.2 per cent increase over 2016, with international traffic accounting for much of the gain. Toronto Pearson is now the second-largest international airport in North America, as measured by the total number of passengers who pass through our airport each year on international flights.
How We Engage
- Passenger surveys
- Airport Service Quality (ASQ) passenger satisfaction survey
- Customer and passenger feedback kiosks
- Web portal for passengers, visitors and the community (torontopearson.com)
- Social media channels (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram)
2017 Highlights and Key Topics
- Achieved a 4.31 ASQ score, making Toronto Pearson the number one airport in North America and Europe. Results are strictly based on passenger feedback and rate a range of amenities and services, including dining options, wait times and internet access.
- Learn more at The Higher the Quality
GTAA Employees
The GTAA employed approximately 1,600 people as of December 31, 2017. Our employees work in management, technical, administrative and other operational roles; some are seasonal employees hired for deicing and airfield maintenance.
How We Engage
- I am Toronto Pearson workshops
- Annual employee feedback survey
- Annual safety climate survey
- Coffee with Howard sessions for employees to engage with our CEO
- All-employee town hall meetings
- People Leaders Forum
- Anonymous complaints and whistle-blowing
- Updates on corporate intranet
- Evening of Excellence employee recognition event
- Airport employee tours (e.g., airside terminal, YYBeeZ hives, stormwater management)
2017 Highlights and Key Topics
- Achieved a 69 per cent employee engagement score, up from 66 per cent in 2016.
- Action plans implemented in response to employee feedback included improving business processes to help everyone work more efficiently, refining our onboarding process for new hires and creating a people manager curriculum.
- 186 employees participated in Coffee with Howard discussion sessions. Topics, which varied by department, included Toronto Pearson’s mega-hub strategy, the proposed regional transit centre, leadership and coaching for employees, and technology processes and improvement.
- Reached a tentative settlement, in December 2017, on a three-year-renewal collective bargaining agreement with the Pearson Airport Professional Fire Fighters Association (PAPFFA) that was subsequently ratified by members.
Airport Employees
Approximately 49,000 people are directly employed at Toronto Pearson. The GTAA and other airport employers share a commitment to provide high-quality customer service and to operate in ways that make safety a top priority while considering the needs of passengers and peers.
How We Engage
- I am Toronto Pearson campaign and workshops
- Annual safety climate survey
- Employee updates on the Toronto Pearson website
- Electronic and printed newsletters
- Cross-functional airport working groups
- Airport employee tours (airside and terminal)
2017 Highlights and Key Topics
- Some 10,000 Toronto Pearson employees engaged in the I am Toronto Pearson campaign.
- People of Pearson showcased employees on social media.
- The Toronto Pearson Safety Index was extended to include non-GTAA employees.
Airport Service Providers
Toronto Pearson’s service providers include ground transportation services, airlines, aviation services and tenant enterprises. We work together to manage customer needs and issues, as well as day-to-day operational requirements.
How We Engage
- Airline Consultative Committee
- Technical Subcommittee
- Commercial Affairs Subcommittee
- Passenger Operations Subcommittee
- Airside Operations Subcommittee
- Irregular Operations Subcommittee
- One-on-one meetings (Safety Summits Labour Council)
2017 Highlights and Key Topics
- In collaboration with Toronto Airport Workers Council, we undertook benchmark research on practices related to work arrangements and identified opportunities for improvement in contract renewals and procurement. Future collaborative work will focus on completing a comprehensive demographic profile of the airport workforce.
Regional Communities
Toronto Pearson is bordered by three of Canada’s largest municipalities: Brampton, Mississauga and Toronto. Each is made up of many distinct neighbourhoods.
How We Engage
- General community engagement phone line and email
- Noise complaints phone line at WebTrack
- Community section of the Toronto Pearson website
- Community Environment and Noise Advisory Committee (CENAC)
- Checking In monthly email newsletter
- Toronto Pearson Volunteer Program
- Events, town halls and meetings (in the community and at Toronto Pearson)
- Large-scale community events
- Community tours
- Corporate giving – via the Propeller Project
- Social media channels
2017 Highlights and Key Topics
- More than 10,000 residents provided feedback related to the 2017–2037 Toronto Pearson Master Plan through forums such as public workshops, the Survey on Airport Growth and Noise Fairness, open houses at Toronto Pearson and CENAC meetings.
- Extensive engagement related to the 2018–2022 Noise Management Action Plan, including workshops, a community survey and a panel of 36 randomly selected residents that met on four occasions.
- More than 2,500 community members completed our 2017 Survey on Airport Growth and Noise Fairness, which was sent to 20,000 randomly selected homes across the GTA and was available online for any resident to complete.
- Town hall meetings related to runway construction – as well as new flight paths that created noise issues in recently developed areas around the airport – led to the creation of a construction communication and engagement protocol.
- CENAC held five public meetings. Major topics of discussion were the 2018–2022 Noise Management Action Plan and noise issues in the areas affected by construction-related flight path changes.
- Formed an external champions council, with representation from local communities and businesses, to provide input on future priorities and goals of the Propeller Project community investment program.
- Grew the Toronto Pearson Volunteer Program to more than 1,300 volunteer hours per week. Under the Program, community members greet passengers, answer questions and provide wayfinding assistance in both the pre- and post-security areas of Terminals 1 and 3.
- Attended nearly 100 community events across the GTA.
- Committed nearly $800,000 in support of 24 community projects – including Scientists in School, CivicAction, ACCES Employment and others – which benefited more than 67,000 residents.
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Social media followers at the end of 2017:
- Twitter: 49,479
- Facebook: 171,837
- LinkedIn: 14,571
- Instagram: 18,844
Facilitation Agencies
The GTAA works closely with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) to share information, address security and facilitation issues, and coordinate long-term operations and facility planning.
How We Engage
- Meetings with local leadership of each of CATSA, CBSA and USCBP
2017 Highlights and Key Topics
- Continued our focus on enhancing the pre-boarding experience by speeding up passenger processing. For example, security screening wait times at Terminal 3 are now three times faster thanks to our work with CATSA over the past three years, which has included investments in new technology.
Governments and Regulators
We actively engage with municipal, provincial and federal governments, and with federal and international regulators (e.g., NAV Canada, the International Air Transport Association), on a range of environmental, social and economic issues that affect the GTAA and the broader air transportation industry.
How We Engage
- One-on-one and community meetings
2017 Highlights and Key Topics
- Engaged with all levels of government on major topics like the 2017–2037 Toronto Pearson Master Plan and the 2018–2022 Noise Management Action Plan.
- Worked closely with NAV Canada on a variety of initiatives related to airport growth and noise management, including the 2018–2022 Noise Management Action Plan and a three-phase Noise Mitigation Initiatives Engagement Plan. We also considered recommendations put forward in the GTAA-sponsored Noise Management Program Best Practices Report, as well as the NAV Canada Independent Toronto Airspace Noise Review.
- Partnered with Metrolinx in planning for the proposed regional transit centre at Toronto Pearson.
- Conducted our biannual survey of 80 municipal, provincial and federal government officials and staff to assess their perceptions of the GTAA. A significant majority, particularly those at the federal level, expressed largely positive views of Pearson and the GTAA. However, there were more neutral or negative scores than in the past from local municipal and regional leaders, some of whose constituents were affected by runway renovation (and the resulting alteration of flight paths) in the spring of 2017.
- Continued negotiations with the City of Mississauga over its stormwater levy.
- Attended or hosted a total of 1,063 government briefings and meetings.
Media
The media plays an important role in providing public updates on Toronto Pearson operations – including delays and cancellations – and in communicating broader airport initiatives.
How We Engage
- Interviews
- Social media
- News releases
- Media statements
2017 Highlights and Key Topics
- Severe weather affecting flight schedules.
- Airfield construction project in spring 2017.
- Swissport labour action in summer 2017.
Aviation Industry
We are actively involved with regional airports, industry organizations and professional associations such as the Canadian Airports Council (CAC), Airports Council International (ACI), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
How We Engage
- Industry association meetings, conferences and working groups
2017 Highlights and Key Topics
- Formally launched the Southern Ontario Airport Network – in collaboration with local airports serving Hamilton, Niagara, Windsor, downtown Toronto (Billy Bishop), London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Lake Simcoe, Oshawa, Peterborough and Kingston – to develop a more integrated regional air transportation network.
- Reaffirmed our Level 3 certification in ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation Program.