Thoughts on Airports

Because I went to a school out of my own province, I flew between Vancouver (YVR) and Toronto (YYZ) a few times a year for the past few years. Over those years, I have grown more fond of Vancouver International Airport, which I think is far better than Toronto Pearson International Airport.

There are numerous reasons for my resentment towards YYZ, which I will list below.

1. Security checkpoints are always so crowded. On a few occasions, I had to be redirected to a different security checkpoint at another part of the airport because there were just so many people.
2. It always takes much longer to retrieve my checked baggage at the carousel than it does at YVR. I consider myself lucky if I retrieve my baggage within 20 minutes of reaching the carousel. 
3. I have been stuck inside the aircraft on the runway while taxiing to the gate because there were other aircraft and vehicles in the way. Once, the plane I was on was stopped just short of the gate because there was another aircraft at the gate.
4. Maybe it's because of the gate I usually get assigned to, but I feel like the food vendors at YYZ are not evenly distributed. Going to the gate and trekking back to get Tim Horton's near the security checkpoint is quite the long walk.
5. I have to pay to use the cart. I was really astonished when I first arrived at YYZ to begin my University career.

Skytrax, an organization that ranks airports around the world, shares my sentiment, as it ranked Vancouver International Airport at 9th as opposed to ranking Toronto Pearson International Airport at 47th for 2012. While YYZ vastly improved over the years, such as making Wi-Fi free and designing a website that is more user-friendly, it is still far behind competition to be acknowledged as a major transportation hub in North America.