Toronto Pearson shares winter game plan as flurries loom

As flurries in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) loom, Canada’s largest and busiest airport is rolling out a winter preparedness plan to keep runways clear so planes can take off on time.

Toronto Pearson airport (YYZ) shared a sneak peek of its strategy on Tuesday (Nov. 26) with CTV News and its affiliates, highlighting its fleet of snow clearing and deicing equipment.

Pearson, which is managed by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), will be tackling Old Man Winter with gigantic 1,500 horsepower snow blowers that can shoot snow 100 feet in the air.

That’s just one of 40 new pieces of snow-clearing equipment that Pearson has acquired over the past two years, CTV News reported.

161 specialized vehicles

In total, YYZ has 161 specialized vehicles and equipment that will keep travellers moving this winter, including underwing deicing units and trucks, spreader and spray trucks, snow tractors, snow blowers and plows, and more.

“Before the first snowflakes hit the ground, our Surface Maintenance Specialists are already prepared to sweep, plow and blow roughly 5,000,000 square metres of surface space to keep planes moving safely. That’s about the same size as 3,300 NHL rinks,” Pearson Airport wrote yesterday on the social platform X.

In total, the Airfield Maintenance Facility uses 108 pieces of snow-clearing equipment for the runways, aprons, and taxiways, the airport added

“We have acquired new equipment over the summer and fall to bolster our fleet and allow us to retire some of our older pieces of infrastructure,” the airport wrote.

Toronto Pearson says it has the world’s largest centralized deicing facility.

Using a fleet of 53 pieces of specialized equipment, “our team deiced around 15,000 aircraft last year,” the airport wrote.

“With an average deicing time of 4:30 minutes, our operation is designed so crews can communicate easily with pilots, equipment operators and air traffic controllers to make sure the aircraft are being serviced as quickly and safely as possible.”

The airport emphasized the importance of “timely and transparent communication” during snowstorms to ensure that travel remains as stress-free as possible.

“We will continue to share information about incoming storms, delays, airline cancellations, and recovery efforts to help you manage expectations during winter storms,” Pearson airport wrote. “Whether you’re tracking a flight, driving to the airport, or monitoring the storm, you can rely on us to provide accurate, up-to-date information this winter.”

All hands on deck

Todd Browne, associate director of airfield operations, told CTV that winter readiness at Pearson all comes downs to anticipating weather patterns.

“[Over] the last couple years, we’ve had a little bit heavier, wetter snow, [and] more snow at once, which is much harder for us to clear,” Browne told reporters.

The larger snow blowers Pearson has purchased in recent years will help take on a “20-centimetre snow event,” if one happens, Browne shared.

As far as staffing goes, “we basically call everybody in for anything over five, six centimeters,” Browne said.

“Everybody is kind of on call and ready to go,” he said.

Winter is coming

The efforts come as passenger volume at Toronto Pearson continues to rise.

Last year’s holiday season, which was amplified by post-COVID confidence, saw a 10 per cent increase in numbers compared to the previous year.  

This past summer, Pearson airport noted an eight per cent increase in passenger volume compared to 2023.

The GTA is gearing up for the first signs of winter. After a warmer than usual fall, Environment Canada says the city’s first snow fall could arrive this week.

Mainly sunny skies are in the forecast on Wednesday, along with a high of 4 C, but winter-like weather, including a chance of flurries, is on tap for this weekend, said the national weather agency.

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