Think you know Pearson? Name these five passengers
Toronto is one of the world’s most diverse cities, home to roughly 230 different nationalities and 140 languages. So, it makes sense that Toronto Pearson would serve more than 160 destinations in 60 countries. An international flight touches down on a Pearson runway every five minutes, on average.
But who are our passengers? Here are five of our top destinations – in Canada and abroad – and who’s heading to them.
The Nature Lover
City: Vancouver
Population: 632,000
Direct flights: Air Canada, Air Transat, Flair Airlines, Lynx Air, Porter Airlines, WestJet
Lift-off: Pearson has up to 30 flights a day to Vancouver, a departure almost every 45 minutes.
Name that passenger: With its rugged mountains, curling seawall and mammoth Stanley Park, the city offers a wild respite for visitors from the Big Smoke — 93 percent of Vancouverites live within five minutes’ walk to green space.
The Go-Getter
City: London, UK
Population: 8.8 million
Direct flights: Air Canada, Air Transat, British Airways
Lift-off: Between Heathrow and Gatwick, London is Pearson’s most served international destination, with eight daily departures.
Name that passenger: Industrious entrepreneurs can tap into a slew of new partnerships between economic agencies like Innovate UK and MaRS in Toronto, which help startups access funding and support abroad.
The Family Flier
City: Karachi
Population: 17.2 million
Direct flights: Pakistan International Airlines
Lift-off: Toronto Pearson is the only airport in North America offering direct service to Karachi, a flight that clocks in at 14 hours.
Name that passenger: More than 123,000 people born in Pakistan now live in the Greater Toronto Area, making it the largest Pakistani diaspora in North America.
The Border Hopper
City: New York
Population: 8.3 million
Direct flights: Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta, Flair Airlines, United Airlines, WestJet
Lift-off: New York is Pearson’s most served transborder destination: More than 45 flights daily leave for JFK, La Guardia, and Newark airports.
Name that passenger: There are roughly 45,000 expat Canadians living in the Tri-State area — and there’s a 24-hours Tim Hortons just outside of JFK, for anyone who absolutely can’t wait for a hit of homegrown caffeine.
The Heat Seeker
City: Cancun
Population: 934,000
Direct flights: Air Canada, Air Transat, Canada Jetlines, Flair Airlines, Sunwing Airlines, Swoop, WestJet
Lift-off: Last winter, for the first time ever, Cancun was Pearson’s most served international destination, with an average of at least six flights a day.
Name that passenger: Before the pandemic, 2.3 million Canadians visited Mexico each year, contributing more than $1 billion to the tourism industry. Travel is bouncing back: In 2022, 1.8 million Canadians flew south for some sun.
