Toronto Pearson International Airport (also known as Lester B. Pearson International Airport or simply Pearson Airport) (IATA: YYZ, ICAO: CYYZ) is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada, its metropolitan area, and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.7 million people. The airport is located 22.5 km (14.0 mi) northwest of Downtown Toronto, with the bulk of the airport lands located in the adjacent municipality of Mississauga. The airport is named in honour of the late Canadian Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lester B. Pearson.
Pearson is the largest and busiest airport in Canada, and is one of the world's largest air transportation hubs. In 2012, it handled 34,912,456 passengers, and 433,990 aircraft movements. It is currently the world's 35th busiest airport by total passenger traffic, 23rd busiest airport by international passenger traffic and 16th busiest airport by aircraft movements. In 2006, the airport was selected as the best global airport by the UK-based Institute of Transport Management.
The airport is the largest hub for Air Canada, making it a major Star Alliance hub airport. It is also a hub for passenger airlines Air Canada Express, Air Transat, CanJet, Sunwing Airlines and WestJet, as well as cargo airline FedEx Express. The airport is operated by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) as part of Transport Canada's National Airports System and is one of eight Canadian airports with facilities for United States border preclearance. Toronto Pearson directly employs 1,100 people, with an additional 40,000 people employed indirectly in the community.
An extensive network of non-stop domestic flights is operated from Toronto Pearson by several airlines to all major and many secondary cities across all provinces of Canada. There are over 65 airlines operating at Toronto Pearson, connecting the airport to over 155 international destinations worldwide. Pearson is one of only two airports in North America, the other being John F. Kennedy International Airport, with scheduled flights to all six inhabited continents.
Read more about Toronto Pearson International Airport: Terminals, Air Traffic Control Role, Cargo Operations, Management, Accidents and Incidents, See Also
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