I have an early morning connection tomorrow (Monday, land at 0636) in YUL going DOM-TB. Is it worth going landside to use the VT lane or just going through the TB connections area?

I tried this last month in YYZ but didn't find it worthwhile because the volume at the landside checkpoint meant it took as long or longer than the connections checkpoint anyways.

Anyone gone through both at YUL recently?

So I stuck with the connections lane. Next time exit and VT it is. Took about 30 minutes to get through with nexus and that would have been substantially longer if I'd arrived 5 minutes later.

I had to remove my laptop at YYZ transborder VT last month. Is that the same at all transborder VT or is it a YYZ special?

You need to remove electronic devices on all USA departures because VT passengers are not vetted by the TSA and anyone can enter if they hold TT membership, are traveling with someone who does or just walk into that line while being ignored by incompetent CATSA staff. TSA refused to permit anything beyond �keep shoes on� for screening USA flights.

YVR Domestic - Checkpoint C is still closed, but "Checkpoint 3" on the upper level where you come out of the walkway from the Canada Line seems to be a fully functional VT checkpoint now. Proper VT experience.

I don't know where you got this information, but it doesn't align with my experiences at YVR, where both electronics and liquids stayed in, or YYZ T1, where liquids stayed in, only electronics out. Definitely "beyond 'keep shoes on'" in both cases.

Having to walk around the back of T1 pre-clearance zone to get to the Nexus / VT line has always been a bit of a pain. Now the turn right by AC special services is cordoned off and instead people are being sent down the long hallway that runs by the staff checkpoint. Yep, another 200m+ just to avail oneself of the VT privilege.

The 2nd time around I just ignored the barrier and went around the stanchions.

VT (via Nexus) was a great help on our recent trip (3 of 4 segments).

Wondering if there's a guide/wiki that helps travellers like me navigate new/unfamiliar airports to access VT benefits?

If not, I'd be willing to crowdsource/collect/compile such info into a guide here for FT...maybe append it to the guide at the top of this thread...if Adam Smith is ok with that.

Mockup, from my recent travels:
Assumptions:
1. Total of 16 airports as listed on the CATSA website...so 48 permutations when factoring domestic/transborder/international.
2. VT is only available when first coming airside (i.e. after check-in), as there is no mention for connections. (Please comment with your experience.)

Can also include the differences between VT, VT-Transborder and VT-FoL experiences (as a copy/paste from CATSA with link).

Thoughts?

To be clear, even though I wrote pretty much everything that's in the wiki, I have no more ownership or control over the wiki than any other member of FT. FT is a community and generally richer the more people contribute to it

A couple of thoughts on your contemplated changes:

A big-picture comment: wikis tend to be more useful when they're concise and structured with a logical flow, with minimal repetition. A majority of FT page views are on mobile platforms, which tend to have limited real estate on the screen and are typically viewed in portrait format, so something that's easy to flip through in that context tends to be more helpful. I'd say that might be even more applicable to a wiki like this that people are more likely to consult on their way to the airport or at the airport. I think the current wiki is a pretty good example - not that it's perfect, as I'm sure there are many ways it can be improved.

I think some of what you're proposing is already there, e.g. there is a list of checkpoints that offer the full VT experience and then a separate list of those that are only front-of-line. If the list might be better organized as an airport-by-airport list, perhaps then it would be useful to specify what each checkpoint offers. The goal is generally to keep things concise, so if you have a better structure, it's probably better to replace the current one than to add on it. This might also suggest there's not much use in listing checkpoints with no VT at all, e.g. YOW TB.

Also in the spirit of keeping things concise, there might be a few checkpoints where directions are useful, e.g. the new YVR Dom upstairs, but in most cases the VT checkpoint/line is just next to the regular one. For example, I wouldn't provide directions to any of the YYC checkpoints because they're all quite obvious and extra text just makes the wiki harder to follow.

I don't think VT-TB is a separate category. As far as I'm aware, you either get full VT or you just skip the line.

For checkpoints where VT hours are limited, that would be pretty useful to have.

As for connections checkpoints, I think there's a VT line at the YYZ T1 TB connections checkpoint. I don't think YUL TB has one. YVR TB doesn't. Not sure about YVR Dom, I haven't been through there since they reconfigured it.

So, there are my thoughts. Have at 'er

The program is fairly useless as I continue to see CATSA idiots either sending or allowing non eligible passengers into the verified line.

What�s the point of having a verified line if anyone can use it? 🤦

If the government there had a working brain, the line would be properly segregated and restricted to Nexus and Global Entry customers only, no companions, no exceptions, with screening procedures that align to PreCheck standards.

The last five times I've flown domestic out of YVR, CATSA has been quite good about properly segregating pax.

Often it's just me (and other Nexus holders) and flight crew in the line. Smoother than it used to be at the 'old' C-gate security lanes. YMMV.

This post makes no sense, because that's exactly what the VT expedited screening experience is - perhaps you should consult the wiki about what's offered at which checkpoints. As someone who often goes out of his way to use the checkpoints that offer full VT, I have never seen anyone directed in from another line, and at no point have companions delayed the screening experience - the line is usually very short, with little to no wait.

If you're complaining about the front of the line service, that's fine, it's mediocre and no different than when it was just for NEXUS, and it would be nice if they rolled the full experience out to more checkpoints. But what you're asking for already exists at YYC C gates, YVR Dom, YVR TB, YUL Dom/Intl, etc - as detailed in the wiki.

I unfortunately have to agree with you here. I have two examples over the last three weeks. I was at YEG dom a few weeks ago with three other colleagues in a party of 4. We were well dressed biz travelers and myself and the second person in the party stopped, showed our nexus cards and walked through; but as we were in conversation all four of us got let through. The other two folks didn�t have nexus cards at all, nor any other VT status. One isn�t even a CAN PR not citizen.

at YYZ TB in T1 yesterday AM, saw a group of folks use the nexus / VT line when they most definitely didn�t have it. Didn�t show a card nor did the catsa staff ask them (or me) for any proof. Just waived through again. That group then went and lined up in the non-mpc, non-nexus line for us cbp.

My experience is unfortunately that while these lines are signed appropriately, they will accept anyone if you�re brave (or clueless) to walk to that line. Maybe Canadians are too nice to turn someone away?

The TT screening experience has been consistently fantastic for me for the bulk of my summer flying through YVR, YYZ, and YUL domestic terminals. Minimal (if any) lines and staff getting bags screened quickly with very few being pulled for manual search.

The new YVR checkpoint upstairs is kind of a pain, but still worth the trek, as far as I can tell. I made the mistake of using the express/priority checkpoint downstairs a few days ago, and it was a mess.

Yeah, upstairs is still (generally) way faster.