GTAA apologizes to passengers for Pearson airport slowdown

TORONTO – The Greater Toronto Airports Authority is apologizing for disruptions earlier this month at Toronto’s Pearson airport.

Board chairman Vijay Kanwar said Wednesday that the GTAA would like to “sincerely apologize” for the inconvenience passengers experienced during cold weather.

Kanwar says a committee will thoroughly review the ground stop put in place Jan. 7 after wind chill readings hovered around the -40 C mark.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“The findings of the ad hoc committee will help ensure that when faced with extreme weather conditions in the future, we can, and will, do better,” Mr. Kanwar stated in a media release.

READ MORE: GTAA boss to make Toronto Pearson airport review public 

Kanwar says the ground stop was instituted for the safety of employees, passengers and the public and was carefully considered and reviewed with the GTAA’s partners.

He says the board is committed to the review of airport operations announced Wednesday and to taking action based on the findings of the review.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled due to the cold triggering a ground stop, which prevented North American flights from landing for more than eight hours.