The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) has issued a late-breaking travel advisory for Canada’s largest hub: the automated LINK Train connecting Terminal 1, Terminal 3 and the Viscount remote-parking garage will be out of service nightly from 22:30 to 03:30 on July 29 and July 30. The shutdown is required for emergency software updates to the train’s automatic-propulsion control system. During the outage, Pearson will operate a continuous fleet of accessible shuttle buses running every five minutes between Viscount Station, the terminal curb lanes and the Sheraton pedestrian bridge. Travellers with tight connections should factor in an extra 15 to 20 minutes of transfer time, especially those moving between trans-border and international gates after evening arrivals. For mobility professionals, the maintenance window overlaps with several peak inbound flights from Asia and the final evening wave of domestic arrivals. Corporate relocation firms meeting assignees are advised to adjust “meet-and-greet” pickup times and to brief newcomers on shuttle locations, which are outside the automated-train entrances on the arrivals-level curb. GTAA says real-time updates will be pushed through the Pearson Airport mobile app and on X (formerly Twitter) @TorontoPearson. The authority chose the late-night slot to minimise disruption, but reminds travellers that similar outages may occur through August as the control-system upgrade is phased in. This localised interruption underscores the importance of contingency routing at multi-terminal airports, particularly for travellers with mobility challenges or heavy luggage. Employers can mitigate risk by pre-booking wheelchair assistance, advising travellers to follow terminal wayfinding in English and French, and budgeting additional ground-handling time in travel authorisations.
