The Canada Border Agency says a cyberattack was not the cause of a partial system outage that affected the country’s largest airports on Tuesday and an investigation is underway.
According to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), customs delays occurred at Toronto Pearson Airport and Montreal-Trudeau International Airport. Services have since been restored.
Travelers were processed manually, but resources were deployed to minimize wait times, the agency told CTV News.
The extent of the outage was unclear.
Officials at Toronto’s Pearson Airport said inspection kiosks at Terminals 1 and 3 were affected but are now operational. Passengers may experience longer than usual waiting times at customs, as the airport states under X.
Diana Lisney, a traveler arriving with her partner from Dublin, Ireland, said people were upset when they waited in excessively long lines.
“A man behind me [said] He will never set foot in this godforsaken airport again,” she said in an email from the airport to CTV News.
Ottawa International Airport was not affected by the outage.
“CBSA agents are processing passengers and so far everything appears to be going well with no delays,” the airport told CTV News Ottawa in an emailed statement.
Montreal-Trudeau International Airport said it was not seriously affected. However, delays are to be expected.
“Engineers are currently assessing and a contingency plan has been put in place that will allow passengers to be processed, although obviously with a longer delay than usual,” a spokesperson told CTV News Montreal.
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