Check-in and Boarding Times

Flying out of Toronto Pearson (YYZ) to the U.S. or another international destination?

If your flight departs before 9 am, please consider arriving at the airport no later than 3 hours prior to your scheduled departure. This is to guarantee you have sufficient time to navigate through security and customs procedures.

Security and customs
For flights to the U.S. departing before 9 am, a queue system is in place to streamline the flow of passengers. Please follow the signage to join the right queue for your flight.

We value your time and comfort, and we want to ensure your journey with us is as smooth as possible. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for your flight:

Check in ahead of time
Check in from 24 hours before your trip online or using our Air Canada App. If you prefer to check in at the airport, you’ll want to arrive well in advance of the check-in deadlines indicated below.

Get to the airport early
You’ll have ample time to check in, drop off your bags, and navigate through the airport without feeling rushed.

Drop off your bags
You can check in your bags as early as 4 hours before your flight’s departure. This helps reduce congestion at security and customs. Remember, once the baggage counter closes, we can’t accept any more bags.

Travelling with heavy or larger bags? Those may take a bit longer to check in. You can use our checked baggage calculator to determine your free baggage allowance and any additional fees.

Priority customer? Carry-on only? Don’t let that stop you from joining the security and customs line early. This will help to avoid any potential delays and ensure a smooth and timely departure.

Check-in and boarding gate deadlines

For a seamless travel experience, please adhere to the deadlines outlined in your itinerary. The times listed below are prior to your flight’s scheduled departure time.

Within Canada

To/from the U.S.1

International
(including Mexico and the Caribbean)

240
minutes
240
minutes
240
minutes

Check-in and baggage drop-off opens

Get a head start and drop your bags off as early as four hours before departure.

60
minutes
Exceptions apply
60
minutes
60
minutes

Check-in and baggage drop-off closes

Make sure you’ve checked in, have your boarding pass and have dropped off your bags before the end of the check-in period for your flight.

30
minutes
30
minutes
45
minutes

Boarding gate deadline

This is the latest you should be at the departure gate, ready to board.

15
minutes
15
minutes
15
minutes

Boarding gate closes

Arriving after this time will result in reassignment of reserved seats, cancellation of your reservations, or disqualification from denied boarding compensation.

1If you are travelling to the U.S., you must clear U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) prior to departure in Canada. Note the following for early morning departures:

  • Pre-board security screening opens at 3:15 at Toronto-Pearson (YYZ) and at 4:15 at Montreal-Trudeau (YUL)
  • U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is open 3:30 - 21:00 at Toronto-Pearson (YYZ), and 4:30 - 19:45 at Montreal-Trudeau (YUL)

Exceptions to check-in and baggage deadlines

For flights within Canada, the baggage drop-off deadline is 45 minutes before departure.

Flights from Toronto Billy Bishop (YTZ) Airport:

  • Check-in deadline is 30 minutes before departure.
  • Baggage drop-off deadline is 25 minutes before departure.

Travelling on one of our Landline motorcoach segments from Hamilton (YHM) and Kitchener-Waterloo (YFK)? View specific check-in and baggage information online.

How early can I check in?

You can check in for your flight as early as:

When can I drop off my bags?

You can bring your bags to the baggage drop-off counter as early as 4 hours prior to your flight’s departure.

I have a connecting flight. What should I know about minimum connection times?

For a smooth connection between flights, it's important to give yourself adequate time between your first flight's arrival and your next flight's departure, in order to allow for security checks and any necessary terminal changes. Learn more about minimum connection times.

What else do I need to know?

Check-in/baggage drop-off and boarding gate deadlines are important. Failure to respect these deadlines may result in the reassignment of any reserved seats, the cancellation of reservations, and/or ineligibility for denied boarding compensation.

Codeshare flights: If you are travelling on a codeshare flight, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the other airline’s policies on check-in times and procedures.