Ottawa: Several major Canadian airports faced long delays on Friday after a technical outage hit border inspection kiosks, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) confirmed.
Travellers arriving from international destinations reported extended wait times as electronic kiosks used for customs and immigration checks went offline at multiple airports, including Toronto Pearson, Vancouver, and Montreal-Trudeau.
In a statement, CBSA said the issue was caused by a “temporary system disruption” affecting Primary Inspection Kiosks (PIKs) and eGates. “Our teams are working urgently with technical partners to restore full functionality. Border officers continue to process travellers manually,” the agency said.
The outage led to long queues in arrival halls, with CBSA officers manually checking passports and declarations. Some passengers reported waiting over an hour to clear customs.
Airlines advised passengers arriving on international flights to expect delays and cooperate with airport staff during the manual processing.
CBSA clarified that the disruption did not pose any security threat and that all border screening procedures remained fully enforced during the outage.
By late evening, officials said the system was gradually being restored, but residual delays could persist through the weekend.
The agency added that it will review the incident to prevent future system failures and ensure smoother operations at Canada’s busiest airports.