Pearson Airport has turned into a construction zone.
Terminal 3, which opened in 1991, has been undergoing an upgrade since last year, but the work only recently came to the surface when hoardings went up on the departures level in full view. According to Greater Toronto Airport Authority spokeswoman Shabeen Hanifa, there are new floors being put in behind there.
But this week, hoardings went up in the much newer Terminal 1 too, in the arrivals area. A new Starbucks is going in, and one level up, a Booster Juice. As soon as it’s done, Starbucks will be the first thing people see when they come through the sliding doors from their international flights. Perhaps appropriately, passengers coming through down the hall at domestic arrivals will continue to be greeted by Tim Hortons. (And as of today, to add another local touch to the often placeless 2004 terminal, you can grab something from
Caplansky's snack bar to substitute for whatever horror Air Canada was thinking of charging you $10 for.)
Branded as
RethinkT3, the work on Terminal 3 isn’t expected to be complete untli 2017.
“Looking at the near future, a lot of work will ramp up in the early part of 2015,” Hanifa says. “We are close to completing work by the east check-in area for an updated screening point which is proposed to open in the new year. This means an expansion of the pre-board screening area in Terminal 3, from 5 lanes to 8 lanes.
“Once the east pre-board screening area opens, work will ramp up for food and beverage, and retail, including a new duty free.”
And by the time that work’s done, it could very well be time to rethink T1 again.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Shabeen Hanifa