The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says recent IT outages that caused delays at Toronto Pearson International Airport and other Canadian airports were the result of unforeseen technical problems — not cyberattacks.
The disruptions affected the agency’s primary inspection kiosks inside Terminals 1 and 3 at Pearson, as well as other unnamed airports, first on Sunday, September 28, and again on Thursday, October 2. Both incidents led to significant delays for travellers as border processing slowed.
“These outages started following unforeseen technical problems during routine systems maintenance on Sunday, Sept. 28. They were not the result of a cyberattack,” the CBSA said in a statement this week. The agency explained that while the initial issues were resolved within 48 hours, the ripple effects on airport kiosks and commercial processing continued as staff worked to clear the resulting backlogs.
By the end of the week, the CBSA confirmed that regular operations had resumed, traveller volumes had returned to normal, and systems were back to service standards. The agency is continuing to investigate the root causes of the outages and will deliver a full report to the Minister of Public Safety within 30 days.
During the disruptions, border officers worked with airport authorities, bridge operators and other partners to keep travellers and cargo moving. Lanes were fully staffed, and officers manually processed passengers and shipments to minimize delays while maintaining security.
The CBSA added that it’s now working to strengthen contingency plans and reduce the risk of future system failures, using lessons learned from the outages to improve response protocols.
The agency, which oversees border control, immigration enforcement and customs operations across the country, emphasized that despite the disruptions, safety and security were never compromised.