This new app lets you skip the US customs line at two Canadian airports

Canadian airports have been plagued with long lines and even longer delays all summer.

Two of the biggest perpetrators? Toronto Pearson Airport (which ranks the worst in the world for flight delays) and Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport (which was roasted by a former NHL player).

A new app launched by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is aiming to help minimize these long wait times.

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Mobile Passport Control (MPC), released in late August, allows Canadians to skip the US customs line by submitting their passport and customs declaration information for free through an app on their smartphones.

CBP says this will hopefully result in “less congestion and more efficient processing” at airports since travellers who use the MPC app won’t have to complete a paper form or use an Automated Passport Control (APC) kiosk.

The MPC app is currently accepted at Toronto Pearson Airport and in Montreal at Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport. The program will expand to Vancouver in late September, according to CBP.

Effective February 1, 2022, @CBP Mobile Passport Control application will be the only CBP mobile application available for public use. Airside Mobile Passport and CLEAR Pass will be discontinued as of January 31, 2022. Learn more in the press release: https://t.co/evCl6gHG2E pic.twitter.com/hLMEIJTI9z

— CBP (@CBP) January 25, 2022

How does it work?

You can download the MPC app for free from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

After downloading, you’ll be asked to create a profile with your name, gender, date of birth, country of citizenship, and passport information.

When landing in the US or going through Toronto Pearson or Pierre Elliot Trudeau, travellers will select their airport and terminal, take a selfie, and answer CBP inspection-related questions on the app.

Once you submit your information through the app, you’ll receive an electronic receipt with an encrypted QR code, which you will show to a CBP officer.

CBP says the app can be especially helpful for families travelling together, as it allows for a single household to submit one MPC form.

Liv McKilkenny posted a TikTok about how the app let her skip the US customs line at Pearson.

“I literally am like baffled right now that I just walked by everyone in that line from this new app,” she said in the video.

@livmcilkenny this ones for my loves-to-leave-toronto besties #toronto #pearson ♬ original sound – liv mcilkenny

It doesn’t look like things are slowing down at Canadian airports heading into fall, so why not wait in one less line using this app?