The key point is that GE members don't have to carry a card (except at land borders), and some members aren't eligible for the card.

Sentri too.

I believe that has changed as well somehow. Previously, you had to leave the secure area, turn right, and go up the escalators.

That signage has all been removed and there is signage for the F gates that points towards the same area as the E gates I believe.

Did this this morning, domestic transfer to US. Not sure it is helpful overall. Long line to get through the first yellow jackets...and don't see the point of traveling through a secure area as opposed to the past and still have to go through security. And no advantage with nexus, Amex,or status in security line! Nexus, non nexus not clearly marked once passed security, lines you go into after that if you are a zero or x on your receipt are a mess. Hopefully it gets better.

The advantage: You didn't have to claim your bag and carry it through.

Oh? You didn't check in a bag? Then I agree, probably zero advantage to the old system of leave airside and enter again, except a slightly shorter walk compared to truly re-entering, and probably still a shorter walk and access to a bigger farm of GE kiosks vs. the old 2 using the connection-entrance to preclearance.

We haven't had to claim and recheck a bag in T1 for at least a year.

Oh, that's true. Then the improved process really doesn't help at all I guess?

they have a system exactly like yvr and yul

your bags get checked in

they then go into a bullpen where they are held

when you clear cbp they're taken from the bullpen and sent to the makeup unit (where the rampie puts your bag in the cart/container)

if you do not clear and they want to search they're pulled from the bullpen and sent to cbp

it's not like you're dealing with the canadian government or something, it's pretty straightforward and streamlined. and cbp isn't like those cbsa goofs, it's not like they search every 1/4 people.

I'm :D although not sure why.

Domestic passengers connecting to US at YYZ haven't had to collect checked bags for some time now. However, now we have to walk twice as far, through a secure area, only to end up mixing with the passengers originating at YYZ at US customs, and then going though security again.

I don't understand why they have done this. What is the benefit of remaining in a secure zone up to the point of going through customs, versus the old method of exiting the sterile area, and taking a much shorter walk to US Customs?

My guess is that OSS will be implemented soon...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/canad...nitiative.html

Given that the US has different screening requirements for inbound passengers, I don't think they'd be able to send people from domestic to the US.

oh trust me, the us government is just as bad, but less passive aggressive. so it's managable.

Coming through YVR domestic on Friday, after the BP scan they were directing people with final destinations in the US to remove shoes and belts.

I thought it was strange until reading this thread.

I wonder if TSA Pre would show on these domestic departures then?

Just for the Nexus security line.

You can go through "regular" security then head for the Nexus/Global entry sign on the left side to access the Global Entry machines. No one there checking for cards/passports - presumably if you don't have GE and try to use the machine, you'll get an error and be booted to the other line.

New system is a downgrade for Nexus members
 

Under the old system, once you used the GE machine, you'd wander past the CBP people in their kiosks and hand in your piece of paper before heading to security.

Now they were directing everyone from the GE machines to go into a line to speak to a CBP person in the kiosk who scans boarding pass, checks passport and asks a question or two. ... is the point of GE if the border guys give you the once over after the machine has already done its checks. I can see this being a cluster on a budy day. :td::mad:

So I've just gone through the new process. Yes, it requires GE/Nexus pax to speak with an agent. My "interview" this morning took about 10 seconds and I was on my way. Granted, there was no one ahead of me in the queue, but the GE/Nexus lane feeds you right to the front of the other lines. So unless there are a million people waiting ahead of you, it shouldn't take all that long to get through to an agent.

The rest of the process was pretty smooth. Security was deserted but looks like it could get crowded at peak travel times. No worse than the old system, probably a little better the rest of the time.

Out of interest did they stamp your passport?

(They stamped mine, but I did get an X, with the old system still in place, but everyone seeing an agent.)

A colleague went through T1 domestic to US today and had the same experience. 1hr+ in line for security, with no status or NEXUS priority line. That sounds insane.

No, they only stamped my GE receipt.

Absolutely sounds insane! What time did your colleague go through today?

Around 3pm I believe.

I went through mid-morning and it was absolutely empty. Given the extreme differences in experiences depending on time of day, maybe the layout is ill-suited to higher pax volume.

shoes off

only difference

and probably more random searches/naked body scans for tsa beancounters or something

making sense of YYZ transborer area
 

I observed this mess @ YYZ last week. Fortunately, I have NEXUS and carry on only i.e. I was there for less than a minute. Here is what I know:
- the transborder security lines have been moved & there are big line-ups;
- after security, you need to self-scan your bp and wait in a holding area till your checked luggage is identified and you are called to confirm same;
- the next stop is US pre-clearance - which is now located in a massive hall where the old security lines and baggage belts were. Walk on through;
- At the transborder MLL, I asked the dragon why the security was moved? The answer (I am not kidding) is because the US Customs & Immigration pre-clearance agents did not want to be located in the same area as checked luggage. I am not kidding.

Any signs of the priority security yet ( http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelin.../security.html )?

// Edit: on more detailed reading, they don't offer gold track, and only rely on gold track in foreign airports...

In light of the attacks in Istanbul, maybe that's not so crazy. The vulnerability of the US customs hall can be reduced by eliminating the presence of unscanned checked luggage.

IIRC CBP agents were demanding to be armed due to the fact that passengers could legally have guns/knives/etc... when they arrived at the agents. This is in keeping with how they are armed at sea/land border crossings. The work around (because no country wants armed CBP agent on their territory), is to place all CBP agents behind security and provide an active, armed police presence in the area. Ergo, no one armed can get to CBP without effectively charging in, and even then would have get by the police, and therefore the agents don't have to be armed.

You'll see this change rolled out to all CBP pre-clearance facilities in the near future, and all new facilities require it as standard.

Do domestic connecting passengers still have to go through security? It doesn't make sense if we are screened by CATSA in Canada and still have to be screened again in Toronto if we didn't leave the secure area. Yes there are 'different standards', but I have been asked to take off my shoes on a domestic flight from YUL...

Yes you have to go through security screening as a domestic connecting passenger. Security is setup right before you enter a holding area before queuing up for the CBP formalities.

Just went through yesterday and the lines were longer for connecting passengers after this new procedure was implemented. (I have never flown a direct transborder flight from YYZ) Why can't OSS be implemented?!

I would imagine OSS for Int'l->US might never happen because of US requirements, although I don't have any hard evidence either way.

I also heard that the lines were being bogged down by travellers with big suitcases, whereas now travellers can move a bit faster through the line.

I interpreted Antonio8069's point about checked luggage as a security concern for CBP officers, not an efficiency one. Although I guess most of us wouldn't necessarily mind an improvement in efficiency... If only that's what we have here :D

But now passengers connecting from a domestic flight are sent through an area where there are only 2 security lanes. In the past when security was post-US customs, I remember there being 4-6 working security lanes. So connecting passengers do have to wait longer...

Honestly, just stop and have a coffee (to ensure enough time for your bag to transfer), reprint your BP at a kiosk to it doesn't show as being printed elsewhere and go through the front. Now that everyone drops bags before hand, all CBP kiosks are setup at scan the BPs and see the bags.

I had posted this question a few days ago in its own thread but now seeing this thread, it seems more relevant here. Pardon my ignorance, but I wanted to obtain more information re: the International flight->US connection process at YYZ.

My mom is flying LH from FRA-YYZ and then AC from YYZ-PIT on a single ticket/itinerary, with a 1 hr 55 min connection in YYZ on a Friday early evening in a few weeks. She's a US citizen and in business class on FRA-YYZ and economy on YYZ-PIT in case that matters. She doesn't have Nexus or Global Entry.

My understanding of the connection process from what I can gather online is:

Her LH flight from FRA will arrive YYZ at one of the E gates in Terminal 1. Her YYZ-PIT AC flight will depart from one of the F gates in Terminal 1. Upon disembarking the FRA flight, she'd follow the purple F gates signs to the US Connection Area. She would take an escalator down one level, go through a set of glass doors, and then immediately turn left, following the F gates signs. She would then take another escalator up one level to the US Connections Hall.

Once inside the US Connection Hall, she'd scan her YYZ-PIT boarding pass at a kiosk and follow the on-screen instructions. She should check the flight status displays, and once her flight or name (?) appears on the screen, she'd proceed to U.S. Customs/Immigration for processing. She may be asked to identify a picture of her checked baggage by US CBP. After clearing US Immigration/Customs, she'd proceed to the F gate number for her PIT flight. Her baggage will be automatically transferred in YYZ without having to claim/recheck it.

My questions are:

1) Is the above description of the process accurate? I'd welcome any corrections or additional details/info.

2) While the YYZ airport website indicates security screening is after US CBP, I was told by another FT'er that security screening is now before the US Connection Area. Is that right?

3) What appears on the screen in the US Connection Hall to indicate you should proceed to US Customs/Immigration? Is it the passenger's name or is it their flight, and if their flight, is it their incoming International flight, or their outgoing US flight?

4) I know 1 hr 55 minutes is within MCT for YYZ for this type of connection, but I just wanted to get a feel from people who've made this type of a connection if this seems like it would be a relatively tight connection due to lines etc., or whether it seems like a relatively comfortable connection.

I'd also be happy to hear any other tips or additional helpful details on the connection process. Thanks!

We were there 2 weeks ago and it was the first time we have been to Canada. We didn't know we had to go thru US custom at YYZ and we thought we got to the airport nice and early. We were there 2 hours before the flight. It took us close to 1 hour to get thru security. The security guy was really mean too. An old lady in front of us who obviously does not speak much English was getting yelled at on every move. She tried to put her bag on the tray and got yelled at "Only laptop on tray!" She tried to put her phone out and got yelled at "Put your phone in your bag!" She tried to step forward to the scanner, and got yelled at "Who told you to move?!"

And then the custom took another 30 to 40 minutes. The line is not that long but it just takes forever. They asked us how many checked bags we got but didn't really have to pull our bags or anything. For us it was fast when we got there, but most of the others took forever. And then the gates are probably some of the smallest waiting area I have seen in any airport. There aren't even room to stand let alone sitting. Then we got to boarding, we realized how they could fit so many gates in such a small area... the planes were not next to the gates. :p At least we got there in time to board!

Anyone gone through T1 lately, I heard they recently changed the security screening / customs to be like T3.

Domestic to Transborder Connection - nexus/GE for security?
 

There are still no nexus lanes for security when connecting from a transborder flight.

Shortly after the new screening process was implemented in T1 a few weeks ago, the CATSA people said it may be a few weeks. Two weekends ago, I again went across the border, and the CATSA agents said that there is no timeframe that nexus lanes at security (for connecting passengers) will be implemented?

Anyone know the true story?

I wonder if it is worth my while to go to security and US preclearance for Toronto originating passengers, as I often do in Vancouver.

Two key items to remember if you try this:
1) Make sure you give your checked bags enough time to be cleared through the system, as you won't have access to the 'waiting room' screens telling you when you can proceed. So effectively, stop at Starbucks and enjoy a leisurely coffee before you head to US security.
2) Make sure to reprint your BP at a YYZ kiosk. The printing station is noted on the bottom of the BP, and the agents at the main doors will send you away if it doesn't say YYZ.