TTC airport shuttle buses are now taking a modified route that riders say adds about 15 minutes to their trip, a change that senior officials neither knew of nor approved.

The buses, which ordinarily take Highway 427 to Pearson International Airport after leaving the Kipling subway station, have instead snaked through residential roads since Sept. 26.

Local TTC drivers said highway speeds combined with standing passengers with luggage made the route unsafe.

The change has sparked complaints from some customers, who say the 15-minute ride has now doubled.

"I've taken it once since it stopped going on the highway and it's a long and winding road," said Vera Beeber, a flight attendant who uses the shuttle bus regularly. "It takes double the time that it used to."

Buses could return to highway next week

TTC chair Adam Giambrone said he wasn't aware of the change until recently.

"This was a decision taken at the local level, at the division level," he said.

"TTC general command as well as the commissioner [weren't] aware of it."

Giambrone said nothing he has seen so far justifies the change, as many TTC buses operate safely on the highway. "We don't have a suitable reason for why this occurred," he said.

The TTC is reviewing the change and buses could be back on the highway by next week, Giambrone said.