hypoxia

I received the following text from United at T-15h:

"Delays at Toronto Pearson International Airport have increased due to new U.S. entry restrictions. To give yourself enough time, we suggest arriving at least 3 hours ahead of your flight. Keep in mind there is a 90-minute cut-off time. If you don't pass through security and U.S. Customs at least 90 minutes before your scheduled departure, you won't be able to board your flight."

Is this accurate? I assume they mean that the check-in cutoff is 90min. Do they even receive the information that you have made it past security or customs?

Edit: No, the message is not accurate. I arrived at the airport 80 mins before the flight, made it past customs 20 mins before the flight, and had no trouble boarding.

climmy

After having flown out of YYZ countless times, I believe they do. At minimum your boarding pass is scanned at security at least once, but I think twice.

Obviously, you provide your boarding pass to CBP so there's a good chance UA is privy to that information as well....At least that you have been seen and scanned.

3 Hours is not unreasonable since CBP can be very arduous unless you have Nexus/Global entry. Even then it's a good idea to be through 90 minutes before.

I feel the pain. I hate being "Trapped" behind security for very long but that pre-clearance for you.

All that said, I can't believe that if you arrived at the gate, say, 60 or even 45 minutes before departure you'd be denied boarding. Heck, there's not even anyone manning the gate station until then.

Add to that, it's a MAJOR pain to get back Canada-side at that point. I've done it on NRSA a number of times and they absolutely HATE doing that.

emcampbe

I doubt it.

I travel to/from YYZ 2 - 6 times per year, not always on UA, but probably about 9 times out of 10. Never heard of anything like that. Have often checked in between 60 - 90 minutes prior to departure.

Check in cutoff is 60 minutes prior to flight for any flights to/from Canada, and I find that's very strict. According to this page, https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...t/process.html, which has the required check in times, as well as airports with exceptions to the general rules, nothing listed for YYZ. Meaning officially, the only requirements are the general - must be checked in and have bags checked at 60 minutes prior to departure, and must be at the boarding gate ready to board at 30 minutes prior.

On the Important Notices page, they have the following generic information about US pre-clearance, but I'm pretty sure it hasn't really changed for years:

Quote:

Traveling on flights precleared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Also given the amount of folks using Nexus/Global Entry, I can't imagine they would enforce a 90 minute cutoff through customs. I can often make it from curbside to through customs in 15 minutes or less with Nexus. And as noted, security and customs both scan your BP - security twice - at the ID check when you enter the line, and just before moving to the scanners/x-ray. I'm pretty sure that's just CATSA capturing wait times - I'd doubt if the airlines have access to it. Have no idea if the airlines can see when customs has scanned pax BPs. I suppose its possible.

I'd guess its a tactic to scare people into arriving earlier, and I wouldn't worry about it. On that note, do note that during busy times, without Nexus/GE, it can be a while to clear customs - don't know how long since they moved to the kiosks, but you used to have waits of 60+ minutes sometimes. I don't know if there is ever a time so busy as to require arriving 3 hours early - 2 for sure during peak days/hours without trusted traveller.

JimInOhio

I know for certain that baggage cutoff for UA at YEG and YYC is 60 minutes.

TravellingMan

2 weeks ago, I was #4 on the upgrade list on the YYZ-DEN ERJ flight. I made it and so did one more. Many thanks to the slow processing of CBP.

If you dont have NEXUS or Global, do show up 3 hrs before departure. Else you are going to miss your flight. Auto cancellation or not, you will not make your flight.

The line to CBP starts snaking right after security. So if you are NEXUS or Global then cut across the "snake" couple of times chanting NEXUS, NEXUS, NEXUS keeping to the left else people are going to be very upset for cutting the line.

bocastephen

I've been flying from YYZ for years, there is no such restriction or requirement, unless this is something VERY new (like within a couple weeks) where CBP is demanding extra time to scrutinize passengers, but this would assume they are still doing the scrutinizing after they've already cleared into the boarding area, so it doesn't even make sense.

If this was nonsense coming from another rogue UA contractor at YYZ, I would just ignore it, but if it's coming from UA officially, then I think we need to ask UAInsider to chime in on this with details because it does not make sense.

Having said this - certain days of the week, and time of day are very very busy, even with GE - so you can assume a trip through the entire process, end to end, on an early Monday morning could be an hour especially with the YYZ security very very annoying habit of checking 50% or more of the bags two at a time, so you could be waiting there 20+ minutes just for your bag to be looked at by a clueless dimwit who saw a pair of tweezers on the xray.

hypoxia

"If you don't pass through security and U.S. Customs at least 90 minutes before your scheduled departure, you won't be able to board your flight."

They do not deny boarding:

- Arrived 80min before flight.
- Through security + customs 20min before flight.
- No issues boarding

StuMcIlwain

Considering that the minimum connection time from AC to UA at YYZ is 70 mins, I don't see how they could require you to be through customs 90 mins before a flight.

And I don't see why you need to be through customs 90 mins before a flight when cut-off at the gate is theoretically 30 mins (and no more than 15 mins in practice). Even if you are boarding at F99, it still only takes 10 minutes to get to the gate. If line-ups for customs are a problem, they need increase the cut-off for checking in, not the time it takes you to get from customs to the gate.

Some clarification from UA is definitely required.

garykung

Yes. It really means after immigration and customs.

Yes - the airline will know if you have cleared immigration and customs and be allowed to board.

rankourabu

This is weird (and new).
Checkin and baggage cutoff has always been 60 mins. I m pretty sure last month I got off the bus at 5:25, and made my 6:20 flight to DEN with ease, stopping for coffee at the MLL.

But as others have mentioned, if you do not have Nexus/GE - customs at T1 can take an hour on a good day, and probably more now with the new restrictions

dvo1029

I have global entry and got this message and to be safe I got through immigration with more than 90 minutes (the regular line is always crazy there so surely you do need to arrive 3 hours before to make the flight). The next time I was curious so I tested this so called cutoff and was through immigration with less than 60 minutes before the flight and no issues of boarding whatsoever. I think United should not send a message like this unless factual and they should merely state the facts that immigration lines are very long and you should arrive 3-4 hours early and if not at the gate 15-20 mins before flight time you will not be able to board.

TravellingMan

Maybe they are going to start enforcing it soon, as valuable time was being wasted on identifying and removing luggage (and re-doing the upgrade list). If you don't meet the deadline, then they can start offloading your bags and reduce delay in departure.

mahasamatman

From the way it's worded, I'm sure this has everything to do with the U.S. travel restrictions (which are only going to increase) due to COVID-19.

mozilla

LHR has this "conformance" system where they won't even allow you to go through security if you present yourself less than x minutes before departure, no matter if you could still make it. Last year, at the entrance of the fast lane security, I overheard an UA agent pleading the case of an elderly couple that was past conformance time. The LHR security officer gave the UA agent a stern "no" and she sighed and took them back to the check-in desk (presumably) to rebook them, suggesting even the airlines have few if any control over this system.

I'm not a fan of this system and definitely hope YYZ isn't making this a commonwealth thing.

entropy

I hope this isn't the case at YYZ, I routinely arrive an hour before flight (NEXUS/GE)

However, 2 data points: the tuesday AM after president's day was an absolute sh-show, NEXUS took a half hour (security+CBP), with lineups to the security, and then a long line into the nexus machines, and a long line to the CBP officer. He did ask the purpose and if I'd been to china, but that's it. (It usually takes no more than 10 mins, maybe +5 on a busy day)

Last saturday was going thru with family and arrived 1;15 out; and security was halted due to cbp. Waited about 15 minutes before they restarted, and when they did it went quicker than the prior time, no lineup for kiosks and short one for an officer.

Both were AC flights though. Regardless of whether UA is really doing this, I would certainly advise if going thru YYZ to add some time to your normal routine, a LOT more if you're non-NEXUS/GE.