Originally Posted by
j2simpso
If true this is really disappointing news. It looks like another Canadian airport is following the nonsense of YYZ and segregating terminals by what flight you actually have. Meanwhile in the states i can access whatever terminal I damn well please so long as I have a same day boarding pass departing from the airport. You may think I'm splitting hairs here but there are tons of legitimate uses for accessing terminals you technically shouldn't be in.
??? I'd say that when it comes to major Canadian airports YUL is the exception, and not the norm. Even then, YUL is simply going back to how things were a few years ago. YYZ, YYC, YVR all have separate domestic, transborder and international areas. YUL isn't "following the nonsense of YYZ."
IMHO comparisons to US airports are not warranted/valid. AFAIK there are no US airports where you can pre-clear immigration for another country and USA also requires all pax to go through customs when arriving in USA (see note below). There is no way to pre-clear pax in Canada without segregating pax. In addition, Canadian airports are trying to set-up to allow (mostly) sterile international to international connections. There are some situations where pax (who are not normally entitled to enter Canada) are permitted to transit at a Canadian airport if they meet certain other requirements for onward travel. There are also some minor differences such as airports have set up in international areas to allow for you to buy duty free and carry it with you at time of purchase, instead of having to claim it at the gate like they do in USA. While there may be valid reasons for a passenger to want to access an international area, IMHO those reasons pale in comparison to the logistical reasons the airport authorities, CBSA, etc. have for segregating international pax. Airports aren't going to design their terminals around the preferences of a relatively small number of pax who want to access a FF lounge.
Which approach is better, that's a matter of opinion, but it appears that major Canadian airports have decided they'd prefer to segregate their pax.
Note - an example of the need to clear customs in USA was AC's previous YVR-HNL-SYD flight. IIRC pax would clear US customs in HNL only if they weren't continuing on to SYD; those pax who didn't disembark in HNL would remain onboard (or go to a secure holding area) and not have to go through US customs. After 9/11 that changed and all pax bound for SYD had to go through YVR pre-clearance for US. Over time AC obtained aircraft that could fly YVR-SYD non-stop eliminating the need for US pre-clearance for Canada-Australia pax.