Toronto Pearson Airport saw hours-long passenger delays after big storm

Nearly 40 cm of snow fell on Jan. 15 at Toronto Pearson, and FlightAware logged 539 delays and 343 cancellations; some passengers reported waits of up to five hours to deplane or depart.

Toronto Pearson Airport experienced widespread disruption after what was reported as the city's biggest winter storm of the season. Nearly 40 centimetres of snow fell on Thursday and operations at the airport were heavily affected. Flight tracking data showed hundreds of delays and cancellations on the same day. Some arriving and departing passengers reported being held on aircraft for several hours before deplaning or takeoff. Known details: - The storm was reported to have dropped nearly 40 centimetres of snow on Jan. 15. - FlightAware data showed 539 flights delayed and 343 flights cancelled at Pearson on Thursday. - Emirates flight EK241 landed at 1:57 p.m. and did not reach its gate until 5:15 p.m., with passengers waiting almost three and a half hours to disembark. - Passengers on some Air Canada flights reported waits of about three hours to deplane after long inbound flights and waits of up to five hours on the tarmac before takeoff. - Reports noted further snowfall expected on Friday, and earlier Thursday-morning updates listed 156 delays and 95 cancellations as of publication. Summary: The storm produced widespread delays and cancellations and left some passengers waiting multiple hours to deplane or depart. More snow was expected on Friday, and operational disruptions at Pearson were reported as of Thursday morning.