Toronto Pearson International Airport is the main travel centre for the east coast of Canada located 22.5 kilometres from the city centre and is named after the 14th Prime Minister of the country, Lester B. Pearson. Handling over 40 million passengers a year, it is the busiest and largest airport in Canada and one of the most internationally used in the world. It is the leading centre for Air Canada and serves domestic as well as international flights, situated in the city of Mississauga adjacent to Toronto, with around 1,100 departures to more than 180 destinations every day.
There are two terminals at Pearson Airport and five runways at the airport, with Terminal 3 acting as the smaller yet impressive passenger terminal containing a Grand Hall entrance and standard airport facilities. Terminal 1 is the most prominent, as the base of Air Canada and one of the largest buildings in the world, with unique inuksuk sculptures welcoming visitors at the entrance and the fastest moving walkway in the world located inside the doors. Visitors can enjoy numerous airport facilities ranging from standard, comfortable waiting areas with shops, restaurants, cafes and computer stations to premium lounges containing plaza televisions, dining buffets and exclusive bars. Art exhibits exist throughout the airport, acting as a reminder of the city’s creativity with work presented from local and national artists in a collection of permanent and temporary displays.
Pearson Airport provides numerous transport links to Toronto city centre, including the UP Express running between the airport train station and downtown Union Station within a 25-minute journey. There is also a LINK Train connecting the two terminals, numerous bus services travelling throughout the Greater Toronto Area and an area for visitors to find a taxi with ease. For drivers, the airport is reachable along local highways and there are many garages offering space for parked cars, or visitors can request van shuttle services to smaller villages and remote destinations.
Originally called Malton Airport, what is now Pearson International has a history dating back to 1937, when the city agreed on the building of new transport hubs, later used during World War II. Transport Canada bought Malton Airport in 1958 and changed the name to Toronto International, later renamed again to its current title after the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Lester B. Pearson.