ticu

How long it takes to clear security and customs at Terminal 1 in Toronto for an early morning flight to USA. The flight departure time is 6:30 am (AC 700). If I get to the airport at around 5:30 am will it be too late to clear security / customs and get to the gate in time? Should I get there maybe earlier? Thanks

Commie

Which day of the week and do you have Status or the Nexus pass?

If you are flying Monday morning and don't have status/nexus...then prepare for a 1+ hour wait. Although your 6:30am flight might be early enough to pass some of the main Monday morning rush. Going through that Terminal on Monday morning between 7-9am....The customs lines can be over 30 minutes and security can be another 30 mins.

But if you have the Nexus pass, that'll cut the wait time t next to nothing.
5 minutes to walk through and use the Customs machines, and another 5-10 minutes for security.

D582

If you have checked in online and have NEXUS, then that's certainly doable - although maybe a bit tight. Also depends on day of week. Monday mornings are usually the worst.

If no NEXUS, then I wouldn't walk in any later than 05:00.

ticu

The flight is Friday at 6:30 a.m. and yes I have Nexus. I crossed a few times before through this particular point but not as early in the a.m. I don't remember taking vary long, but last time there was also a long line at the "nexus" conveyor line with one agent looking very thoroughly at the carry-on bags through the x-ray screens.

WR Cage

The timeline of arriving at 5:30am (I will assume this is the time you are entering terminal 1 checkin hall) and then departing @ 6:30am is very tight. While it is doable from a practical perspective, there are too many variables that could derail your journey. Missing the flight means waiting 1:45 hours for the next departure, so if your business meeting schedule can withstand a potential delay, maybe that is okay.

To make the 1hour timeline work, you have to assume the following:
- no delays on the road due to traffic or weather.
- you have your boarding card printed the night before. 1hour is the cut off for getting BP from the kiosks.
- you have no checked bags.
- there are no issues with the nexus or GE machines.
- you are not selected for random secondary check of your bags by USCBP.
- you are not selected for random secondary security screening (SSSS).
- the nexus security screening lanes are open and CaTSA has fully trained crew on the nexus lanes. ( nexus lanes at YYZ are often used for training purposes. )

About the only factor working in your favour is that LGA gets ground holds throughout the day, so perhaps your 6:30am departure get delayed by 15-30 minutes.

For the record I routinely do <1hour airport procedures at my home port of YYC. But I also know the potential hiccups and if any of the above risk factors are present, I get to airport earlier. Also, when the new international terminal is operational, my days of getting from front door of terminal to boarding the aircraft 20 minutes later are over.

ticu

I'm staying the night before at the Four Points across T3 so traffic won't be an issue. The only thing is that the hotel has the shuttle only at the top or the bottom of the hour. So I can board the shuttle either at 4:30 or at 5:00. I would prefer the 5:00 am but that would drop me of the T1 probably around 5:20 a.m. the latest. The 4:30 am shuttle would get me probably being too early at the gate (before 5:30 by my reckoning).

IluvSQ

Get there earlier.
Nothing bad can happen if you do, but bad things can happen if you cut it too close.
For me, even with Nexus, I would want to be there even more than 1.5 hours before
a US flight.

jcoop

The LINK people mover operates every 4 minutes from 3:30 AM onwards, so just ride it from the T3 stop to T1 instead of using that hotel shuttle. The shuttle stop is right outside of the Sheraton, I believe. I would still plan on getting to T1 Departures around 1:15 in advance just to give yourself a little bit of leeway.

respectable_man

There is a shuttle service from 4Points by Sheraton (not Gateway) nearby, which may be what Ticu refers to. Assuming luggage is not an issue, the good way to avoid any and all problems is to walk the 150m from the 4Points to T3 and take LINK from there.

Otherwise, the LINK service has superseded the shuttle service from Sheraton Gateway: there is no longer shuttle service between Sheraton Gateway and T1.

ticu

It' not the Gateway Sheraton connected to T3 through a walkway; it' the Four Points by Sheraton outside the airport, but "across the street" from T3 at 6257 Airport Road. Now, looking on Google maps at the street view it kind of seems that the LINK rail line ends somehow not far from The Four Points ( at a parking garage on Viscount) and I'm wondering if I attempt to walk to that LINK station/stop we'll be easy to get there or, I could get blocks in my way and make me waste even more time than getting the Four Pionts shuttle.

jcoop

My apologies! I saw "across from T3" and missed the rest of what you said.

It should be possible to walk across Airport Road to Silver Dart Drive - there is a sidewalk that goes from Silver Dart to the T3 arrivals area. If you look at the Google Maps satellite view you can see it on the right hand side of the access ramp that Silver Dart becomes...

respectable_man

Walk to T3 from the 4Points if you can and get on the LINK. The shuttle is not worth waiting for unless you have lotsa luggage or the weather is terrible. Plus, the actual traffic flow makes going to T1 is extremely convoluted and not necessarily fast at all times.

catarina

When I have a flight that early I find it worth the extra $$$'s stay at the Sheraton Gateway in the terminal rather than the 4Pts.

Another alternative is to take a taxi rather than the hotel shuttle. It is minimal $'s and gives you more flexibility. It will save you time because it will drop you off right where you need to go and minimize your walking time.

My last flight 2 days ago was late and I arrived at 2 am rather than 1. At that point I could not have cared less about an extra $10 for a cab vs free shuttle. And I was sorely regretting booking a hotel that was not in the terminal.

A third option is the ALT hotel. I believe it has a set rate of $134 any day of the year and it on on the LINK train same as the Sheraton Gateway - it's just one more stop away from the Sheraton Gateway.

These options assume you have not prepaid for the Sheraton 4Pts or need to use points, although the cab is still viable in this case.

C

ticu

I am answering now to my own questions after I have completed the trip (for my records for future need and for anyone else's interest in this matter):

1. Before flight, I booked a package for a one night sleep and 8 free days of parking @ the 4Points in question for $99+tax =$112.
2. I checked in the hotel on a Thursday night, then checked out the hotel pool and hot tub (OK in general) set my alarm for 3:45 a.m. for my 6:30 flight on Friday out of T1.
3. I got on the hotel shuttle at 4:30 a.m. (leaving my car in the 4P parking lot) , about 10 minutes later I was at T1 , went to the security area for US, made a left onto the Nexus path, used the GE machine to get my Global Entry ticket then went to the security line. Shoes and belt off, etc. - no difference that I was a Nexus member- but the line was very short i.e. not too busy at that time of that Friday morning. At 5:10 a.m. I was already on the airside area going at leisure to my gate for the 6:30 flight to LGA.
3. Upon return at around 9:30 pm on Monday I called the 4P to send the shuttle to pick me up, took about 15 minutes until it showed up, took another 15 minutes to get to the hotel (very cumbersome route from airport to just cross the street), got my car back and that was the end of it.

Was it worth the hotel "deal" and going into T1 at 4:30 a.m.? Probably yes because it worked as expected. Could I have gotten later to T1 and still make the flight? Maybe but it could have been risky or too tight. I think overall I just got one hour of extra sleep that night and paid 35 bucks more that I would have if I used Park and Fly Valet, which I was going to use initially.

tentseller

I find these hotel stay and park deal worth while; to at rush hour for parking shuttle it can be hours before you can get on a park and fly shuttle.
Hotel shuttles are never more than 30 minutes wait and they tell you how long the wait is so you are not waiting outside.