Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa airports back Toronto Pearson’s concerns over fake bot-driven travel sites

Canadian airports are speaking out against a rise in AI-generated articles which falsely claim delayed and cancelled flights. Abigail Bimman reports.

Canada’s biggest airport is warning passengers about a spike in AI-generated articles, written by bots, spreading misinformation about flight delays and cancellations.

“Some of these authors, quote unquote, are writing up to 100 different articles a day, and not only about Toronto Pearson but airports across North America,” Pearson spokesperson Sean Davidson told CTV News.

The airport called out five sites in particular: TheTraveler.org, Toronto Digest, Travel and Tour World, NomadLawyer and Travel Tourister.

CTV News reached out to all five, but did not hear back by deadline.

Davidson says his airport has also reached out but have not heard back. He is concerned passengers could rely on incorrect information, leading them to arrive at the airport too early or cancel their flights.

“There are real-world impacts to these articles, and it’s something that’s really hard for us as an airport to stop,” he said.

Two headlines from this week include “Canadian Air Traffic Gridlock” and “Canadian Flight Disruptions Hit Major Domestic Carriers.” One article has the headline “Toronto Pearson International Airport Disruption: 26 Flights Suspended and 162 Delayed Across North America and Europe in 2026.” The story is dated July 9, 2026, but does not clarify a time period for those delays.

Pearson’s own departure information showed six cancellations and 21 flight delays Thursday afternoon.

While another article on a different site published today referenced “Montreal-Trudeau chaos: 11 flights cancelled, 87 delayed.” There is no specific reference to timing other than a July 9 dateline and a later reference to “a single operating day in July 2026.”

That airport’s own departure information showed 12 cancellations and four delays Thursday afternoon.

Aeroports de Montreal told CTV News in a statement “the rise of AI-generated misinformation and disinformation presents challenges for consumers” and encourages passengers to verify information directly with their airline, or through the official airport website.

‘Go directly to the source’

“As a general rule, travellers should exercise caution when consulting third-party websites and ensure that the information they rely on comes from official and trusted sources,” wrote spokesperson Eric Forest.

The Ottawa International Airport have recognized the concern as well, stating “the sites and their fabrications have been a discussion point with our colleagues in the U.S. as well.”

Spokesperson for the airport, Krista Kealey said she’s not aware of any direct impact to passengers. Like Pearson, she has also tried reaching out to at least one site.

She called the headlines “quite alarming” with content “often misleading or completely inaccurate, which is frustrating.”

The same worries are echoed by Vancouver International Airport spokesperson Stephen Smart.

“We want people to have accurate, timely information, and so anytime we are seeing misinformation out there, it’s a significant challenge,” he told CTV News.

Tech expert Carmi Levy calls sites like these “a new vector of cyber insecurity,” and said cyber criminals are targeting victims not just in the travel industry, but across all sectors.

He calls the websites, which can mirror legitimate sites in appearance “a significant problem.”

“At best, they are using this to generate clickbait traffic to generate revenue and this is how they make money. At worst, they’re tricking travellers into sharing personal information, which will then be used in other kinds of attacks in future,” he tells CTV News.

Like airport officials, Levy encourages passengers to stick to legitimate sources including airport and airline site or apps.

“Go directly to the source, and you cut out the potential for these malevolent actors to insert themselves into the conversation and steal your information,” Levy said.

With files from CP24’s Codi Wilson and CTV News Producer Noah Wachter