Porter Airlines welcomes opening of U.S. Preclearance at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport

New facility streamlines travel experience for passengers

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Porter Airlines is celebrating a significant enhancement for Toronto travellers with the opening of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) Preclearance at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ), marking a new era of convenience for passengers.

As the airport’s largest airline and a longtime advocate for Preclearance, Porter welcomes this streamlined travel experience for the hundreds of thousands of passengers who fly on its U.S. routes each year. The airline has been the driving force behind U.S. traffic at the airport, accounting for all cross-border service since it started operating these routes nearly two decades ago. This represents over 13 million passengers to date.

“Porter has strongly supported Preclearance at Billy Bishop for over 15 years, recognizing the tremendous value it brings to travellers. This is an important development for our passengers and the airport,” said Michael Deluce, CEO, Porter Airlines. “Since launching U.S. flights from YTZ in 2008, Porter has been committed to providing elevated economy service between Toronto and key American cities. Preclearance represents the next chapter in that journey.”

Porter operates up to 16 daily flights to five U.S. destinations from YTZ to established markets in Boston, Chicago, New York/Newark and Washington, D.C. New service to Nashville (BNA) begins on May 11, and existing Chicago service transitions to O'Hare (ORD) from Midway (MDW), as of Sept. 1.

With Preclearance becoming operational, Porter passengers will clear customs and immigration in Toronto before departure, arriving at U.S. airports as domestic passengers. This eliminates additional time for customs processing upon arrival and facilitates faster connections for those with continuing itineraries.

“Billy Bishop has consistently facilitated U.S. travel each year for more passengers than other airports that already have Preclearance. We thank the Canadian and U.S. governments for enabling this important investment, as well as Toronto Port Authority and Nieuport Aviation for ensuring that all requirements were in place for the facility to open,” added Deluce.

To ensure a seamless experience through the new facility, passengers travelling to the U.S. are advised to arrive at Billy Bishop three hours before departure, subject to airport operating hours. Check-in and baggage drop-off counters now close 60 minutes prior to scheduled departure times for U.S. flights, allowing for necessary processing through screening before boarding.

For more information about Porter’s U.S. destinations, visit flyporter.com.

About Porter

Since 2006, Porter Airlines has been elevating the experience of economy air travel for every passenger, providing genuine hospitality with style, care and charm. Porter’s fleet of Embraer E195-E2 and De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft serves North America, including a coast-to-coast domestic Canadian network, the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. Headquartered in Toronto, Porter is an Official 4 Star Airline® in the World Airline Star Rating®. Visit www.flyporter.com or follow @porterairlines on Instagram, Facebook and X.