Experiencing the Travel Boycott to the U.S. at a Canadian Airport

We have enjoyed watching travel programs and videos since the COVID days. These travel programs have influenced us to some extend where we would visit next. One of these places we would like to visit is Greece. So we have packed our bags and off we go to Greece for the next few weeks!

  With the tense situation at the U.S. borders, we have had great reservation travelling to the U.S. these days and would avoid it as much as possible. However, our flight going to Athens took us to Philidalphia, U.S. for a connecting flight to our destination. We were up at 4 a.m. in order to catch our first flight at 7:30a.m. at the Pearson International Airport. The taxi ride was smooth though it was pouring rain from time to time with lightening on our way to the airport.

  We arrived at the airport and headed straight to the American Airline check in counter. The place looked deserted and we didn't see any lineup or anybody around at all.

 

'Where is everybody? O, my goodness, why it's so quiet here?"

  We were in a panic mode thinking that we might have missed our flight and everybody had boarded. An American Airline employee was sitting by the entrance to the ticket counter and she asked if we needed any help checking in or getting our boarding pass. Since we were only connecting flight in Philidalphia's airport with no intention of staying in the States, we didn't book any hotels there. Unable to receive an American address from us, the computer self check-in procedure didn't allow us to proceed with our online check in the night before.

  The agent helped us and instructed us what to do and we were able to get our boarding pass from the self check in koisk. We proceeded to our boarding gate about an hour before boarding. I was surprised to see only three or four people at the Waiting Lounge. I thought we were too early for boarding and there would be more people a little later. Half an hour before Boarding Time, I looked around and saw only half a dozen waiting passengers. At Boarding Time, there were less than 20 people flying on this flight to the States. Wow, we hadn't never flown to the U.S. with so few passengers on board from Toronto. Why were there so few people flying to the U.S.? I guess Trump's rhetorical claims that Canada should be the 51st State upset a lot of Canadians who have started the boycott of U.S. products, including travel to the country, ourselves included.

  I heard of how quiet the airports have become and today we experienced it ourselves!

  RT, Toronto Pearson International Airprot

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