Toronto City Centre Airport
Encyclopedia
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , commonly known as the Toronto Island Airport is an airport
located on the Toronto Islands
in Toronto
, Ontario, Canada. It is named after Air Marshal
Billy Bishop
, a Canadian First World War
flying ace
. As of 2010, it was Canada's 14th busiest airport and Ontario's 3rd busiest airport by passengers and the 17th busiest Canadian airport in terms of aircraft movements. The airport is used by civil aviation
, air ambulance
s, and regional airline
s using turboprop
planes.
Opened in 1939, it has been operated since 2000 by the Toronto Port Authority
(TPA). Since 2000, the airport has been a centre of controversy between community groups and Toronto politicians wishing to close the airport and the TPA and its primary tenant, Porter Airlines
, who have expanded its usage.
The airport is built on lands created by dredging of the lake bottom for sand. The site is attached to the Toronto Islands, a former peninsula jutting out in Lake Ontario
, south of central Toronto. The adjacent area was used previously for park lands, hotels and cottages, as an amusement park and it was the site of Toronto's first professional baseball stadium, Hanlan's Point Stadium
, later known as Maple Leaf Park. The stadium was the site of Babe Ruth
's first professional home run, commemorated by a plaque near the Hanlan's Point docks on the island. The adjacent area was cleared of buildings during the construction of the airport. Hanlan's Point marked the northern extent of the islands prior to the building of the airport.
The first proposal to build an airport was made in June 1929 by the Toronto Harbour Commission
. The Commission proposed a four-stage plan, starting with an "air harbour" for seaplanes, while the final stages proposed filling the then-regatta course lagoon between the sandbar and Hanlan's Point. Toronto City Council
at that time agreed to the "air harbour" but "in no way-either by implication or suggestion- implies approval of the ultimate development of a combined air harbour [sic] and airport." In 1935, in a different environment, City Council received approval from the federal government of R. B. Bennett
to spend $1 million on a tunnel across the Gap and construction began, with the idea that the tunnel would make the airport feasible. Council itself approved the tunnel and airport projects on August 8, 1935 by a vote of 15–7, against the opposition of Toronto mayor Sam McBride
. That fall, after construction began, a federal election was held and William Lyon Mackenzie King
was elected. King's government reversed the previous government's decision, cancelling the tunnel project.In 1936, mayor McBride died and the largest opponent to the airport was gone. Trans-Canada Airlines was expected to begin operations in 1937, so in November 1936, City Council formed an "Advisory Airport Committee" to advise on where to build a municipal airport. On July 19, 1937, after two days of debate, City Council voted 14–7 to approve the island airport project. The project demolished the baseball stadium, fifty-four cottages, amusement park attractions and the regatta course. The remaining cottages and cottagers were moved to today's Algonquin Island (then named Sunfish Island). Construction started in October 1938, using dredges to suck approximately 1300000 cu yd (993,921.3 m³) from Toronto Harbour to provide the land needed for two 3000 ft (914.4 m) runways. In parallel, the THC built Malton Airport
to the north-west of the city on farmland, opened in 1939. After a hugely popular visit by King George VI
in May 1939, the airport was named Port George VI Island Airport. The original 1939 wooden frame terminal
building is still present and in use although not as a commercial passenger terminal. It is a designated historical site. The only major change to the structure was a change to sloping glass in the control tower
to facilitate night operations, made during the early 1950s. Instead of the tunnel, ferry service was inaugurated, which has operated ever since, across the narrow "Western Gap" channel. The first ferry service was a "cable ferry
", which operated until December 31, 1963. The ferry, which was rated to carry 48 persons, was attached by two cables, one to either dock. One cable was reeled in, while the other was let out. The cable was dropped to the bottom to let shipping pass. When high waves occurred from storms or wind, the ferry went out of service. Attached by a rope, the ferry was allowed to drift out into the channel to avoid battering itself against the dock. The boat was 'marooned' for two days when the Hurricane Hazel
storm arrived in 1954. The cable ferry was replaced by the Harbour Commission tugboat "Thomas Langdon."
, the airport was used by the Royal Norwegian Air Force
(RNAF) for training. In 1943, because of the noise of their training flights, the Norwegians moved their facility out of the city. The airport was turned over to the Royal Canadian Air Force
for the duration of the war. Barracks were built at the foot of Bathurst Street, which became emergency housing after the war, and were eventually demolished in 1957. The nearby 'Little Norway Park
' is named in remembrance of the Norwegian community around the airport.
. Air traffic control was instituted in 1953. In 1957, Malton Airport was turned over to the Government of Canada
in exchange for improvements at the island airport, including a lengthened runway and improved facilities. The 4000 ft (1,219 m) main runway was opened in 1961. In 1962, the land was leased to the THC for 21 years, and the THC assumed financial responsibility for the airport. The THC now operated the airport as principals, not as agents for the City. In 1964, the THC replaced the cable ferry with the Maple City ferry.
In 1974, the operational deficits of the airport led the Government of Canada to grant an annual subsidy to the Harbour Commission. The Province of Ontario agreed to pay for the costs of the airport ferry. The Government of Canada put a condition on the subsidy, that intergovernmental agreement needed to be reached on the future of the airport. While the Metro Toronto
, Ontario and Canadian levels of government proposed to add STOL
(Short TakeOff and Landing)-based airlines to the facility, this was opposed by the City of Toronto. In 1981, City Council agreed to a limited level of commercial STOL passenger service. It signed a memorandum of understanding between the THC, the City and Transport Canada
, and in 1982, the Canadian Transport Commission
issued a licence to City Centre Airways to operate de Havilland Dash 7
planes between the island, Ottawa
and Montreal
. In 1983, the City of Toronto, the THC, and the Government of Canada signed a Tripartite Agreement over operation of the airport. The Agreement, in force until 2033, leases the land for the airport at a rate of $1 per year. The majority of the airport land is owned by the province of Ontario with two small sections owned by the Government of Canada and a small section owned by the city. The agreement made provisions for a restricted list of aircraft allowed to use the airport due to noise levels, prohibitions on jet traffic except for MEDEVAC flights and prohibition against the construction of a fixed link between Toronto Island and the mainland. According to the Tassé report: "The Tripartite Agreement does not directly set a maximum number of flights or passengers at the Island Airport; it does, however, establish noise exposure parameters which are not to be exceeded (NEF 25), thus effectively providing restrictions on the number of flights." The number and type of flights are to stay within the Noise Exposure Forecast (NEF) 25 exposure level to neighbours. The agreement was amended in 1985 to specifically allow the new de Havilland Dash 8, small 37–39 seat planes at the time, which are not considered STOL planes.From 1984 until 1991, the City Express
regional airline operated at the airport, peaking at 400,000 passengers annually in the mid 1980s. In 1990, Air Ontario
(later to become Air Canada Jazz
) started operating regional airline service to Ottawa and Montreal. In 1994, the Harbour Commission renamed the airport 'Toronto City Centre Airport.' In 1998, U.S. Airways Express started a short-lived service to Syracuse, New York
and White Plains, New York
.
In 1999, the operation of the airport was turned over to the new Toronto Port Authority, which took over the responsibilities of the Harbour Commission, including the airport and port functions. Unlike the previous Harbour Commission, the Port Authority has a different management structure and a different management focus. Its new board of directors contained less Toronto-appointed members. The Authority was also expected to manage the port more like a business.
By 2005, the airport recorded about 68,000 flights, down from a historic high of 240,000 in 1967. The only carrier operating at the airport was Air Canada affiliate Air Canada Jazz (Jazz), operating flights between Toronto and Ottawa. In 2006, Jazz lost access to terminal space at the airport and was forced out of the airport. Jazz had been leasing terminal space month-to-month from City Centre Aviation Limited (CCAL), a private company that was taken over by REGCO Holdings (owners of Porter Airlines) in 2005. On January 31, 2006, CCAL issued Jazz with a 30-day termination notice. Two days later, on February 2, the new Porter Airlines venture was announced. Jazz contacted the TPA on February 3 to find other space. However the TPA did not have any space for Jazz to use and on February 15, 2006, Jazz announced a 'temporary' suspension of flights for the month of March. This subsequently became permanent.
Porter renovated the terminal with upgraded lounges, new food services and electronic check-in terminals. Porter began regional airline service with flights to Ottawa in the fall of 2006 using Q400 series Dash 8 planes, 70-seat aircraft. Its entry into service was met by protesters who attempted to block passengers from the airport. Porter has since expanded to other destinations in Canada and the United States. The airport handled over 93,000 takeoff
s and landing
s in 2008. To support Porter, the TPA launched the David Hornell ferry in 2006, which carries 150 passengers on its upper deck and 20 vehicles below. The Hornell replaced an older ferry, Maple City, which dated from 1964, which became the back-up. The Hornell is named after David Ernest Hornell
, a Victoria Cross
recipient.
In January 2009, it was announced that the TPA would purchase a second, larger ferry to support Porter's activities. The ferry is to be financed out of the airport's improvement fee charged to passengers. The ferry had been proposed by Porter CEO Robert Deluce to the TPA's Board of Directors over the period of March–June 2008. The decision to approve the $5 million ferry precipitated a conflict-of-interest investigation of TPA director Colin Watson, who is a self-described friend of Deluce's, and who voted in a 5-4 decision to approve the ferry. Watson was cleared of the charge by the federal Ethics Commissioner
Mary Dawson
in June 2009. The new ferry, named the "Marilyn Bell I" after a naming contest, went into service on January 22, 2010.
At its annual meeting on September 3, 2009, the TPA announced that it would rename the airport after William Avery "Billy" Bishop, a Canadian First World War
flying ace
. The name would become the "Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport". The proposal drew criticism from TPA critics such as Adam Vaughan
, charging "the port authority is putting together a "feel-good story" to prevent people from asking tough questions about how the island airport is governed." On November 10, 2009, after approval from Transport Canada
, the TPA officially renamed the airport to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. It is the second airport in Canada, after Owen Sound Billy Bishop Regional Airport, to be named for Bishop. The airport continued to be listed in aeronautical publications and weather reports as Toronto City Centre Airport, until February 11, 2010.
In the September 17, 2009 La Presse newspaper, Air Canada president and CEO Calin Rovinescu was quoted as saying that the term of exclusivity for Porter at the airport ends in 2010 and that Air Canada is considering a return to the airport in 2010, if acceptable terms can be arranged. Later in September, Jazz chief executive officer Joseph Randell reiterated the comments stating that they intended to restore service as early as April 2010.
In 2011, Air Canada began flying again out of the island airport. In July 2011, an agreement was reached between the City and the Port Authority to enable construction of a pedestrian tunnel connecting the airport. Included in the agreement was the proviso that the historic Terminal building would be dissembled and moved from the airport to an undetermined location, to be turned over to a third party, at Port Authority expense. As of July 2011, the Port Authority plans to move the terminal building from the airport. The Port Authority wishes to transfer it to a third party for some operation fitting its heritage status.
, south-west of Downtown Toronto
. The airport has one main east-west runway, two shorter runways, and a seaplane
base, Toronto City Centre Water Aerodrome. The airport is used for regional airline service and for general aviation
, including medical emergency flights (due to its proximity to downtown hospitals), small charter flights, and private aviation
. Under its operating agreement, jet aircraft are banned from the airport, with the exception of MEDEVAC flights.
The airport is operated by the Toronto Port Authority (TPA), a Federal public authority. The airport is classified as an airport of entry
by NAV CANADA
and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency
. The airport's hours of operation are 6:45 am to 10:45 pm, except for MEDEVAC flights. The airport's hours are governed by the 2003 update of the tripartite operating agreement which set the hours of operation. Airfield crash fire rescue
and EMS are provided by the TCCA Emergency Response Service, backed up by Toronto Fire Services
and Toronto EMS
. As of 2010 it was Canada's 14th busiest airport and Ontario's third busiest airport by passengers with 1,130,625 and the 17th busiest Canadian airport in terms of aircraft movements with 113,685. Passenger traffic increased 46% from 2009 to 2010.
There is a taxi stand and a small parking lot at the ferry dock. The 509 Harbourfront streetcar
line serves the intersection of Bathurst Street and Queens Quay
, one block north of the ferry dock, connecting the airport to Union Station
. Both Porter Airlines and Air Canada offer free return bus shuttle service between the Fairmont Royal York Hotel and the airport ferry dock.
Tenants include:
The TPA imposes a $20 per flight Airport Improvement Fee
surcharge on departing passengers of scheduled flights.
es per se, but instead some negotiated amount to account for municipal services. For the period from 1999 until 2008, the TPA did not make payments in lieu of property tax to the City of Toronto on the Island Airport in a dispute over the amount of the payment. By 2009, the City estimated that the TPA owed $37 million in unpaid payments in lieu of property tax (PILT). The PILT payments were based on the assessed value as calculated by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation
, which assesses all property for the province of Ontario. The City and the TPA presented their case before a federal dispute resolution process. On January 26, 2009, the Dispute Advisory Panel recommended an amount of $5 million that the TPA must pay. This value was based on similar payments made by other airports, which make the payments based on passenger numbers. Pearson Airport at the time of the ruling paid 94 cents per passenger. The ruling by the Dispute Panel works out to 80 cents per passenger. On February 10, 2009, the City applied for a judicial review to the Federal Court of Canada
.
On November 25, 2009, the City and the TPA came to an agreement in principle to settle all outstanding legal issues. Both sides agreed to accept the other's estimate of monies owned. The City will pay $11.4 million owing on payments related to the 2002 property settlement and $380,559 owing on harbour user fees. The TPA will pay the City $6.4 million owed to resolve the dispute over the PILTs. The agreement, which has been ratified by Toronto City Council, was made in conjunction with the transfer of 18 acres (7.3 ha) of land at Leslie Street and Lake Shore Boulevard for a proposed Toronto Transit Commission
(TTC) light rail
storage facility.
Otto Lang
announced a plan to provide daily scheduled airline service between the airport and Ottawa and Montreal, using de Havilland Dash 7 STOL planes. The plan was opposed by then-Mayor John Sewell
and Toronto City Council, representing local residents. Local proponents at the time were the Toronto Board of Trade
and unionized workers at the de Havilland
plant in Downsview. In 1980, the Canadian Transport Commission turned down the plan stating that the airport's services were not satisfactory and required upgrading. Service was eventually established in 1984 after agreements on noise, jet bans and funding were made in 1983 between the City and Transport Canada. With the ending of direct federal subsidies of the airport in the early 1990s, the Toronto Harbour Commission and its successor the Toronto Port Authority (TPA) became dependent on subsidies from the City of Toronto.
Since 1935, there have been repeated plans to construct either tunnels or a bridge to the airport. The airport continued to require public subsidies and various expansion plans, including jets and airport enlargement were seen as a way to increase its usage and make the airport self-sufficient. Meanwhile during this time, the downtown area surrounding the airport was redeveloped. Whereas it was once port lands and industrial buildings, the area changed with the coming of Harbourfront Centre
, which sparked condominium tower development along the waterfront near the airport and increasing the number of residents in the area.
Opposition to the airport was formalized into the Community AIR (Airport Impact Review)
volunteer association in 2001, headed by the late activist and former councillor Allan Sparrow. It was formed by local residents to oppose expansion on the grounds of increased air
and noise pollution
, safety concerns and that the increase in air traffic will hamper recent government initiatives to rejuvenate the Toronto waterfront
. In July 2001, at a news conference held with representatives of the Sierra Club, the David Suzuki Foundation
and the Toronto Environmental Alliance
, the group proposed converting the 200 acres (80.9 ha) airport to parkland. Community Air was and is supported by the City councillors of the area.
After the formation of the TPA in 1999, one of its first tasks was a review of the Airport operations by an outside consultant firm, Sypher-Mueller. In its December 2001 report, the consultant concluded that the airport "is not sustainable and will likely lead to continued financial losses." Passenger volumes had declined to 140,000 annually from a peak of 400,000 in 1987. The consultants concluded that if services were upgraded to include small jets, that possibly 900,000 passengers could be carried by 2020. The report proposed a $16 million bridge and $2 million in runway upgrades.
It emerged during 2002, that Robert Deluce
, former executive with Canada 3000
, proposed to fly regional turboprop planes from the island airport. Deluce's proposal was initially conditional on the construction of a fixed link to the airport. In 2002, the TPA made plans to link the island to the mainland by a new bridge to serve expanded services.
At the same time, the TPA was pursuing a $1 billion law-suit against the City of Toronto over some 600 acres (242.8 ha) of port-lands it claimed were transferred improperly to the Toronto Economic Development Corporation by the TPA's predecessor, the Toronto Harbour Commission (THC), in the early 1990s during the mayorship of June Rowlands
The port-lands had been transferred under the direction of THC directors appointed by the City in exchange for a permanent subsidy of the THC under agreements made in 1991 and 1994. The lands had been earmarked for waterfront revitalization by the City after the Crombie Commission. The lawsuit would emerge as a factor in the TPA's plans for expansion of the airport, and City Council support for the TPA's plans for a new bridge became conditional upon the lawsuit being dropped.
The proposal to link the airport with a bridge had been previously approved by Toronto City Council in 1995 and 1998, with the proviso that a business plan would be presented for approval by the THC and later the TPA for operating the airport. In November 2002, City Council met to debate the competing proposals, that of closing the airport in favour of some parkland, or of approving the TPA's plans and having uncontested title to the port lands. Despite pleas from former mayor David Crombie, urban planner/activist Jane Jacobs
and Harbourfront
residents, the TPA plan was supported by then-mayor Mel Lastman
, who argued that the estimated $190 million of annual economic benefit the airport would create, was too good to pass up. On November 28, 2002, Council in a day-long debate, made two votes to settle the issue. First, Council voted 32–9 to accept a settlement to end the TPA port-lands lawsuit in exchange for an immediate payment of $5.5 million and an annual subsidy of $5.5 million to the TPA until 2012. Council then voted 29–11 to approve the amendment of the tripartite agreement to permit a fixed link and the construction of a lift bridge.
The next year, a municipal election year, saw public opinion change to oppose the bridge. In October 2003, a Toronto Star
poll listed 53% of residents city-wide opposed the airport bridge, while 36% supported it. Bridge supporter Mel Lastman was retiring. Councillor David Miller
ran for Mayor on a platform to stop the building of the bridge, a position supported by Community Air and other local community groups. Other mayoral candidates Barbara Hall
and John Tory
supported the bridge. Although the bridge was an election issue, and the bridge project still required two federal approvals, the TPA continued developing the project, progressing to the point that contracts were signed with major participants (including companies operating from the airport).
In November 2003, Mr. Miller was elected Mayor of Toronto with 44% of the vote. While construction workers prepared the construction site, Miller immediately started the process to cancel the bridge project, sparking threats of another lawsuit from the TPA. The incoming City Council voted 26–18 in December 2003 to withdraw its support of the bridge project and federal Transport Minister David Collenette
announced that the federal government would accept the Council's position on the bridge and withdraw its support.
In January 2004, the federal government would put approval of the project on hold, preventing its construction. Immediately, Deluce would file a $505 million lawsuit against the City of Toronto, claiming that Miller "abused his powers", by threatening councillors, had Toronto Fire Services and Toronto Hydro
"interfere with the construction of a fixed link" and lobbying the federal government to "withhold certain permits." The federal government later transferred $35 million to the TPA in May 2005 to settle claims arising from the cancellation from Deluce, Aecon Construction
and Stolport Corp. Compensation terms were not disclosed. TPA CEO (Lisa Raitt
) commented "You will never hear about the bridge again." and "We have been working very hard since December of 2003 to deal with the request of the City of Toronto not to build a bridge, and we are very happy that the matter has been dealt with." New federal regulations were introduced to ban any future plans to build a fixed link to the airport. The monies from the federal settlement were used by the TPA to purchase a new, larger passenger ferry and by Deluce to renovate the airport terminal.
(IATA)-accredited slot coordinator. These slots would become available after Porter's new terminal building was complete.
In 2009, the Toronto Medical Officer of Health started studying the effects of the pollution from Toronto's airports. The TPA initiated a study by the Jacobs Consultancy to examine the air pollution from the airport, as part of an environmental review of the airport's activities. In January 2010, the Toronto Board of Health started holding hearings into the health effects of the island airport, including the proposed increased traffic.
In March 2010, the opening of Porter's new terminal was met by new protests by Community Air activists protesting the increase in flights. The number of slots is contested by Community Air, which asserts that this contravenes maximums previously calculated:
Air Canada pursued a judicial review of TPA's plans to open the airport to other airlines. The action was heard in Federal Court in July 2010, and the Court dismissed Air Canada's claims against the TPA's decisions of December 2009 and April 2010 with respect to the airport slot allocations. Continental Airlines
had also been reported as having interest in setting up Canada-U.S. flights from the airport. In June 2010, Air Canada and Continental Airlines received initial approval to fly into and out of the airport. Continental was allocated 16 slots, Air Canada 30 and Porter an additional 44 slots. In October 2010, Air Canada and the TPA concluded an operating agreement, and Air Canada was to begin operating flights starting in February 2011. Air Canada began flying out of the airport on May 1, 2011. However, United Continental Holdings
, (the merged Continental Airlines and United Airlines) decided not to fly out of the airport.
and Adam Vaughan criticized the proposal as a benefit to a small number of privileged users and a subsidy to Porter Airlines' business. The project was not included on a City-approved list of projects submitted to the federal government. On October 6, 2009, the TPA, having not yet received approval for the tunnel project, announced that it was now too late to proceed to meet the March 2011 completion date deadline condition for the project to receive federal infrastructure stimulus funds.
In January 2010, the TPA announced that it was seeking a private-sector partner to build the pedestrian tunnel. The cost was now estimated to cost $45 million CAD. The cost would be financed by a $5/flight increase in the Airport Fee paid by passengers. On July 12, 2010, the TPA announced that it intends to begin construction of the tunnel as early as 2011, after TPA conducts an environmental assessment. The tunnel will not be built on or over City of Toronto land, meaning that City approval is not required. The TPA also announced that an opinion poll conducted on behalf of the TPA suggested that "a majority (56%) of Torontonians support a pedestrian tunnel to the island airport."
The TPA concluded its environmental assessment of the project in April 2011. The TPA then short-listed three companies to respond to a request for proposals to build the tunnel. The RFP ends in October 2011. In July 2011, an agreement was reached with the City of Toronto, exchanging lands with the Port Authority, enabling the Port Authority to proceed on the pedestrian tunnel. The agreement allows the Port Authority to expand their taxi and parking space for the airport. The City of Toronto will have a water main to serve the Islands included as part of the project.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located on the Toronto Islands
Toronto Islands
The Toronto Islands are a chain of small islands in the city of Toronto, Ontario. Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the city centre, and provide shelter for Toronto Harbour...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario, Canada. It is named after Air Marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Billy Bishop
Billy Bishop
Air Marshal William Avery "Billy" Bishop VC, CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DFC, ED was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian ace, and according to some sources, the top ace of the British Empire.-Early life:Bishop was born in Owen Sound,...
, a Canadian First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
. As of 2010, it was Canada's 14th busiest airport and Ontario's 3rd busiest airport by passengers and the 17th busiest Canadian airport in terms of aircraft movements. The airport is used by civil aviation
Civil aviation
Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work together to establish common standards and recommended practices...
, air ambulance
Air ambulance
An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient needs to be transported over a distance or terrain that makes air transportation the most practical transport....
s, and regional airline
Regional airline
Regional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...
s using turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
planes.
Opened in 1939, it has been operated since 2000 by the Toronto Port Authority
Toronto Port Authority
The Toronto Port Authority is a Canadian port authority responsible for management of the harbour of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, including the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport...
(TPA). Since 2000, the airport has been a centre of controversy between community groups and Toronto politicians wishing to close the airport and the TPA and its primary tenant, Porter Airlines
Porter Airlines
Porter Airlines is a regional airline headquartered at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Porter operates regularly scheduled flights between Toronto and locations in Canada and the United States using Canadian-built Bombardier Dash-8 Q 400...
, who have expanded its usage.
The airport is built on lands created by dredging of the lake bottom for sand. The site is attached to the Toronto Islands, a former peninsula jutting out in Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
, south of central Toronto. The adjacent area was used previously for park lands, hotels and cottages, as an amusement park and it was the site of Toronto's first professional baseball stadium, Hanlan's Point Stadium
Hanlan's Point Stadium
Hanlan's Point Stadium was a baseball stadium and lacrosse grounds in Toronto. It was erected in 1897 at Hanlan's Point on the Toronto Islands for the minor league Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club. It was destroyed by fire twice, in 1903, and again in 1909...
, later known as Maple Leaf Park. The stadium was the site of Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
's first professional home run, commemorated by a plaque near the Hanlan's Point docks on the island. The adjacent area was cleared of buildings during the construction of the airport. Hanlan's Point marked the northern extent of the islands prior to the building of the airport.
History
1930s
Toronto Harbour Commission
The Toronto Harbour Commission was a joint federal-municipal government agency based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The agency managed Toronto Harbour as well as being responsible for major works along the Toronto waterfront. It built the Toronto Island Airport in 1939...
. The Commission proposed a four-stage plan, starting with an "air harbour" for seaplanes, while the final stages proposed filling the then-regatta course lagoon between the sandbar and Hanlan's Point. Toronto City Council
Toronto City Council
The Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors....
at that time agreed to the "air harbour" but "in no way-either by implication or suggestion- implies approval of the ultimate development of a combined air harbour [sic] and airport." In 1935, in a different environment, City Council received approval from the federal government of R. B. Bennett
R. B. Bennett
Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett, PC, KC was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He served as the 11th Prime Minister of Canada from August 7, 1930, to October 23, 1935, during the worst of the Great Depression years...
to spend $1 million on a tunnel across the Gap and construction began, with the idea that the tunnel would make the airport feasible. Council itself approved the tunnel and airport projects on August 8, 1935 by a vote of 15–7, against the opposition of Toronto mayor Sam McBride
Samuel McBride
Samuel McBride was a two-time Mayor of Toronto serving his first term from 1928 to 1929 and his second term in 1936 which ended prematurely due to his death.-Politics:...
. That fall, after construction began, a federal election was held and William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
was elected. King's government reversed the previous government's decision, cancelling the tunnel project.In 1936, mayor McBride died and the largest opponent to the airport was gone. Trans-Canada Airlines was expected to begin operations in 1937, so in November 1936, City Council formed an "Advisory Airport Committee" to advise on where to build a municipal airport. On July 19, 1937, after two days of debate, City Council voted 14–7 to approve the island airport project. The project demolished the baseball stadium, fifty-four cottages, amusement park attractions and the regatta course. The remaining cottages and cottagers were moved to today's Algonquin Island (then named Sunfish Island). Construction started in October 1938, using dredges to suck approximately 1300000 cu yd (993,921.3 m³) from Toronto Harbour to provide the land needed for two 3000 ft (914.4 m) runways. In parallel, the THC built Malton Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...
to the north-west of the city on farmland, opened in 1939. After a hugely popular visit by King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
in May 1939, the airport was named Port George VI Island Airport. The original 1939 wooden frame terminal
Airport terminal
An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from aircraft....
building is still present and in use although not as a commercial passenger terminal. It is a designated historical site. The only major change to the structure was a change to sloping glass in the control tower
Control tower
A control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
to facilitate night operations, made during the early 1950s. Instead of the tunnel, ferry service was inaugurated, which has operated ever since, across the narrow "Western Gap" channel. The first ferry service was a "cable ferry
Cable ferry
A cable ferry is guided and in many cases propelled across a river or other larger body of water by cables connected to both shores. They are also called chain ferries, floating bridges, or punts....
", which operated until December 31, 1963. The ferry, which was rated to carry 48 persons, was attached by two cables, one to either dock. One cable was reeled in, while the other was let out. The cable was dropped to the bottom to let shipping pass. When high waves occurred from storms or wind, the ferry went out of service. Attached by a rope, the ferry was allowed to drift out into the channel to avoid battering itself against the dock. The boat was 'marooned' for two days when the Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed as many as 1,000 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and South Carolina, as a Category 4 hurricane...
storm arrived in 1954. The cable ferry was replaced by the Harbour Commission tugboat "Thomas Langdon."
World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the airport was used by the Royal Norwegian Air Force
Royal Norwegian Air Force
The Royal Norwegian Air Force is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian armed forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peace force is approximately 1,430 employees . 600 personnel also serve their draft period in the RNoAF...
(RNAF) for training. In 1943, because of the noise of their training flights, the Norwegians moved their facility out of the city. The airport was turned over to the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
for the duration of the war. Barracks were built at the foot of Bathurst Street, which became emergency housing after the war, and were eventually demolished in 1957. The nearby 'Little Norway Park
Little Norway Park
Little Norway Park is a small park located in downtown Toronto, Canada at the southwest corner of Bathurst Street and Queen's Quay West.A totem pole is located near Queen's Quay West on the park property....
' is named in remembrance of the Norwegian community around the airport.
1950s-1960s
During the 1950s and 1960s the seaplane base was busy with private flights to Muskoka and HaliburtonHaliburton County, Ontario
Haliburton is a county of Ontario, Canada, known as a tourist and cottage area in Central Ontario for its scenery and for its resident artists. Minden Hills is the county seat. Haliburton County was established in 1983, but had existed as the Provisional County of Haliburton since 1874...
. Air traffic control was instituted in 1953. In 1957, Malton Airport was turned over to the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
in exchange for improvements at the island airport, including a lengthened runway and improved facilities. The 4000 ft (1,219 m) main runway was opened in 1961. In 1962, the land was leased to the THC for 21 years, and the THC assumed financial responsibility for the airport. The THC now operated the airport as principals, not as agents for the City. In 1964, the THC replaced the cable ferry with the Maple City ferry.
1970s-1980s
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
, Ontario and Canadian levels of government proposed to add STOL
STOL
STOL is an acronym for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe aircraft with very short runway requirements.-Definitions:There is no one accepted definition of STOL and many different definitions have been used by different authorities and nations at various times and for a myriad of...
(Short TakeOff and Landing)-based airlines to the facility, this was opposed by the City of Toronto. In 1981, City Council agreed to a limited level of commercial STOL passenger service. It signed a memorandum of understanding between the THC, the City and Transport Canada
Transport Canada
Transport Canada is the department within the government of Canada which is responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio...
, and in 1982, the Canadian Transport Commission
Canadian Transport Commission
The Canadian Transport Commission was Canada's first fully converged, multi-modal regulator.The body was created by Canada's Parliament on September 19, 1967, to assumed the responsibilities of two bodies: the Board of Transport Commissioners , which oversaw air and railway regulation, and the...
issued a licence to City Centre Airways to operate de Havilland Dash 7
De Havilland Canada Dash 7
The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with STOL capabilities. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent company, de Havilland Canada, was purchased by Boeing and was later sold to Bombardier...
planes between the island, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. In 1983, the City of Toronto, the THC, and the Government of Canada signed a Tripartite Agreement over operation of the airport. The Agreement, in force until 2033, leases the land for the airport at a rate of $1 per year. The majority of the airport land is owned by the province of Ontario with two small sections owned by the Government of Canada and a small section owned by the city. The agreement made provisions for a restricted list of aircraft allowed to use the airport due to noise levels, prohibitions on jet traffic except for MEDEVAC flights and prohibition against the construction of a fixed link between Toronto Island and the mainland. According to the Tassé report: "The Tripartite Agreement does not directly set a maximum number of flights or passengers at the Island Airport; it does, however, establish noise exposure parameters which are not to be exceeded (NEF 25), thus effectively providing restrictions on the number of flights." The number and type of flights are to stay within the Noise Exposure Forecast (NEF) 25 exposure level to neighbours. The agreement was amended in 1985 to specifically allow the new de Havilland Dash 8, small 37–39 seat planes at the time, which are not considered STOL planes.From 1984 until 1991, the City Express
City Express
City Express , also known as Air Atonabee Ltd., was an Ontario, Canada based airline that operated passenger service in eastern Canada,the northeastern United States and the center and eastern Mexico from 1971 to 1991.- Fleet :...
regional airline operated at the airport, peaking at 400,000 passengers annually in the mid 1980s. In 1990, Air Ontario
Air Ontario
Air Ontario Inc. was a Canadian airline now part of Air Canada Jazz. It was headquartered in London, Ontario.- History :Air Ontario Inc. was established in June 1987, with the merger of Austin Airways, Canada’s oldest airline, which began service in 1934, and Air Ontario Ltd...
(later to become Air Canada Jazz
Air Canada Jazz
Jazz Aviation LP is a Canadian regional airline based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Enfield and Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chorus Aviation....
) started operating regional airline service to Ottawa and Montreal. In 1994, the Harbour Commission renamed the airport 'Toronto City Centre Airport.' In 1998, U.S. Airways Express started a short-lived service to Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
and White Plains, New York
White Plains, New York
White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...
.
1999–present
By 2005, the airport recorded about 68,000 flights, down from a historic high of 240,000 in 1967. The only carrier operating at the airport was Air Canada affiliate Air Canada Jazz (Jazz), operating flights between Toronto and Ottawa. In 2006, Jazz lost access to terminal space at the airport and was forced out of the airport. Jazz had been leasing terminal space month-to-month from City Centre Aviation Limited (CCAL), a private company that was taken over by REGCO Holdings (owners of Porter Airlines) in 2005. On January 31, 2006, CCAL issued Jazz with a 30-day termination notice. Two days later, on February 2, the new Porter Airlines venture was announced. Jazz contacted the TPA on February 3 to find other space. However the TPA did not have any space for Jazz to use and on February 15, 2006, Jazz announced a 'temporary' suspension of flights for the month of March. This subsequently became permanent.
Porter renovated the terminal with upgraded lounges, new food services and electronic check-in terminals. Porter began regional airline service with flights to Ottawa in the fall of 2006 using Q400 series Dash 8 planes, 70-seat aircraft. Its entry into service was met by protesters who attempted to block passengers from the airport. Porter has since expanded to other destinations in Canada and the United States. The airport handled over 93,000 takeoff
Takeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle goes from the ground to flying in the air.For horizontal takeoff aircraft this usually involves starting with a transition from moving along the ground on a runway. For balloons, helicopters and some specialized fixed-wing aircraft , no...
s and landing
Landing
thumb|A [[Mute Swan]] alighting. Note the ruffled feathers on top of the wings indicate that the swan is flying at the [[Stall |stall]]ing speed...
s in 2008. To support Porter, the TPA launched the David Hornell ferry in 2006, which carries 150 passengers on its upper deck and 20 vehicles below. The Hornell replaced an older ferry, Maple City, which dated from 1964, which became the back-up. The Hornell is named after David Ernest Hornell
David Ernest Hornell
David Ernest Hornell, VC was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
, a Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
recipient.
In January 2009, it was announced that the TPA would purchase a second, larger ferry to support Porter's activities. The ferry is to be financed out of the airport's improvement fee charged to passengers. The ferry had been proposed by Porter CEO Robert Deluce to the TPA's Board of Directors over the period of March–June 2008. The decision to approve the $5 million ferry precipitated a conflict-of-interest investigation of TPA director Colin Watson, who is a self-described friend of Deluce's, and who voted in a 5-4 decision to approve the ferry. Watson was cleared of the charge by the federal Ethics Commissioner
Ethics Commissioner (Canada)
The Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada is a Canadian government institution. It was created as a result of the Federal Accountability Act, also known as The Federal Accountability Act created the which came into effect on July 9, 2007.The position currently is...
Mary Dawson
Mary Dawson (Canadian civil servant)
Mary Elizabeth Dawson is the current Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada. She was appointed by the minority Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper on July 9, 2007 as the Conflict of Interest Act came into force....
in June 2009. The new ferry, named the "Marilyn Bell I" after a naming contest, went into service on January 22, 2010.
At its annual meeting on September 3, 2009, the TPA announced that it would rename the airport after William Avery "Billy" Bishop, a Canadian First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
. The name would become the "Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport". The proposal drew criticism from TPA critics such as Adam Vaughan
Adam Vaughan
Adam Vaughan is a councillor representing Ward 20 Trinity—Spadina in Toronto, Canada. For about 20 years, Vaughan worked as a political journalist and activist, most recently as the Political Specialist at Citytv/CP24. Before that, for ten years, he reported for CBLT in Toronto as a municipal...
, charging "the port authority is putting together a "feel-good story" to prevent people from asking tough questions about how the island airport is governed." On November 10, 2009, after approval from Transport Canada
Transport Canada
Transport Canada is the department within the government of Canada which is responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio...
, the TPA officially renamed the airport to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. It is the second airport in Canada, after Owen Sound Billy Bishop Regional Airport, to be named for Bishop. The airport continued to be listed in aeronautical publications and weather reports as Toronto City Centre Airport, until February 11, 2010.
In the September 17, 2009 La Presse newspaper, Air Canada president and CEO Calin Rovinescu was quoted as saying that the term of exclusivity for Porter at the airport ends in 2010 and that Air Canada is considering a return to the airport in 2010, if acceptable terms can be arranged. Later in September, Jazz chief executive officer Joseph Randell reiterated the comments stating that they intended to restore service as early as April 2010.
2010-present
In January 2010, the TPA announced that it would spend $8 million CAD on upgrades to the airport. The upgrades include a new $2.3 million CAD Equipment Maintenance Building, apron paving, equipment upgrades and a noise barrier to deflect plane maintenance noise out over the lake. The expense would be recouped from the Airport Improvement Fee charged to passengers. In February 2010, Air Canada filed suit against the TPA to get access to the airport, access it had lost when Porter had evicted Jazz in 2006. On March 29, 2010, the Federal Court ruled that Air Canada would have a hearing in July 2010 of its objections to the TPA process. On March 7, 2010, the first half of the Porter's new terminal opened. The new terminal, estimated to cost $50 million CAD, is expected to be completed in early 2011. The opening of the new terminal was met by new protests by Community Air activists protesting the proposed increase in flights.In 2011, Air Canada began flying again out of the island airport. In July 2011, an agreement was reached between the City and the Port Authority to enable construction of a pedestrian tunnel connecting the airport. Included in the agreement was the proviso that the historic Terminal building would be dissembled and moved from the airport to an undetermined location, to be turned over to a third party, at Port Authority expense. As of July 2011, the Port Authority plans to move the terminal building from the airport. The Port Authority wishes to transfer it to a third party for some operation fitting its heritage status.
Facilities
The airport is located on the Toronto Islands, at the foot of Bathurst StreetBathurst Street (Toronto)
Bathurst Street is a main north-south thoroughfare in Toronto. It begins at the Lake Ontario shoreline and continues north to the Toronto boundary of Steeles Avenue...
, south-west of Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don River to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west...
. The airport has one main east-west runway, two shorter runways, and a seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
base, Toronto City Centre Water Aerodrome. The airport is used for regional airline service and for general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
, including medical emergency flights (due to its proximity to downtown hospitals), small charter flights, and private aviation
Private aviation
Private aviation is the part of civil aviation that does not include flying for hire. In most countries, private flights are always general aviation flights, but the opposite is not true: many general aviation flights are commercial in that the pilot is hired and paid...
. Under its operating agreement, jet aircraft are banned from the airport, with the exception of MEDEVAC flights.
The airport is operated by the Toronto Port Authority (TPA), a Federal public authority. The airport is classified as an airport of entry
Airport of Entry
An airport of entry is an airport that provides customs and immigration services for incoming flights. These services allow the airport to serve as an initial port of entry for foreign visitors arriving in a country.-Africa:-Americas:-Asia:...
by NAV CANADA
NAV CANADA
Nav Canada is a privately run, not-for-profit corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation system .The company employs approximately 2,000 air traffic controllers , 800 flight service specialists and 700 technologists...
and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency
Canada Border Services Agency
The Canada Border Services Agency is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border enforcement, immigration enforcement and customs services....
. The airport's hours of operation are 6:45 am to 10:45 pm, except for MEDEVAC flights. The airport's hours are governed by the 2003 update of the tripartite operating agreement which set the hours of operation. Airfield crash fire rescue
Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting
Aircraft rescue and firefighting is a special category of firefighting that involves the response, hazard mitigation, evacuation and possible rescue of passengers and crew of an aircraft involved in an airport ground emergency....
and EMS are provided by the TCCA Emergency Response Service, backed up by Toronto Fire Services
Toronto Fire Services
The Toronto Fire Services is part of the Emergency Services that respond to 911 calls in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The Toronto Fire Services is responsible for responding to fires, rescue and assisting with medical situations within the City of Toronto...
and Toronto EMS
Emergency medical services
Emergency medical services are a type of emergency service dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency...
. As of 2010 it was Canada's 14th busiest airport and Ontario's third busiest airport by passengers with 1,130,625 and the 17th busiest Canadian airport in terms of aircraft movements with 113,685. Passenger traffic increased 46% from 2009 to 2010.
Public access
The only public access to the airport from the mainland is by the Toronto Island Ferry. At only 122 m (400.3 ft) in distance, the route may be one of the world's shortest regularly scheduled ferry routes. The ferry, which transports vehicles and passengers, operates from the foot of Bathurst Street to the airport dock every 15 minutes from 5:15 am to midnight (the 5:15 ferry is for airport staff, airline passengers can begin crossing at 5:30). The TPA operates the 200-passenger ferry Marilyn Bell I and the 150-passenger David Hornell.There is a taxi stand and a small parking lot at the ferry dock. The 509 Harbourfront streetcar
509 Harbourfront
509 Harbourfront is a streetcar route in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission.-History:The Harbourfront LRT, originally designated 604 Harbourfront, began service in 1990...
line serves the intersection of Bathurst Street and Queens Quay
Queen's Quay (Toronto)
Queen's Quay is a prominent street in the Harbourfront neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street was originally commercial in nature due to the many working piers along the waterfront...
, one block north of the ferry dock, connecting the airport to Union Station
Union Station (Toronto)
Union Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Toronto, located on Front Street West and occupying the south side of the block bounded by Bay Street and York Street in the central business district. The station building is owned by the City of Toronto, while the...
. Both Porter Airlines and Air Canada offer free return bus shuttle service between the Fairmont Royal York Hotel and the airport ferry dock.
Tenants and terminals
There are 2 terminals and several hangars:- Terminal A
- Porter Airlines Passenger Terminal
- Hangar 4A - OrngeOrngeOrnge is the air ambulance service for the province of Ontario and for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care...
and Canadian HelicoptersCanadian HelicoptersCanadian Helicopters , formerly CHC Helicopter Canadian operations, operates 132 aircraft from 43 bases across Canada which provides a broad range of helicopter services to include: emergency medical services, infrastructure maintenance, utilities, oil and gas, forestry, mining and construction,... - Porter FBO Hangars 5 a& 6 - home to Porter Airlines & Airborne Sensing Corp
- Trans Capital FBO operates a small hangar facility at the northeast end of the airport
Tenants include:
- The Airborne Sensing Corporation
- Cameron Air Service
- Canadian Flyers International, flight school and charters
- Ornge Transport Medicine (Ontario Air Ambulance/MOHLTC)
- CHC HelicopterCHC HelicopterCHC Helicopter is one of the world’s largest helicopter services company specializing in: Transportation to offshore oil and gas platforms; Civilian search and rescue services; Helicopter maintenance repair and overhaul...
- Island Air Flight School & Charters (Hangar 4)
- Air Canada ExpressAir Canada ExpressAir Canada Express is a brand name under which four regional airlines operate feeder flights for Air Canada. They primarily connect smaller cities with Air Canada's domestic hub airports and focus cities, although they offer some point-to-point service. On April 26, 2011, it was reported that Air...
- Porter AirlinesPorter AirlinesPorter Airlines is a regional airline headquartered at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Porter operates regularly scheduled flights between Toronto and locations in Canada and the United States using Canadian-built Bombardier Dash-8 Q 400...
- Trans Capital Air - air charters and FBO operations.
- (Others listed at the Toronto Port Authority web site)
Fire and rescue
The airport operates its own fire and rescue service:- Oshkosh StrikerOshkosh StrikerThe Oshkosh Striker is a specialized Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting vehicle built by Oshkosh Corporation at the Pierce Mfg. facilities Appleton, Wisconsin. There are three models of the Striker: 1500, 3000, 4500...
1500 Airport crash tender - delivered 2009- AMERTEK RIV (Rescue Intervention Vehicle) - leased from Sudbury Airport from November 2008 to March 2009
- Waltek C5500-P
Airlines and destinations
Airport Improvement Fee
An Airport Improvement Fee or Embarkation Fee or Airport Tax or Service charge or Service fee is an additional fee charged to departing and connecting passengers at an airport. It is levied by government or an airport management corporation and the proceeds are usually intended for funding of major...
surcharge on departing passengers of scheduled flights.
Dispute over payments in lieu of taxes to the City of Toronto
Federal agencies such as the TPA never pay property taxProperty tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
es per se, but instead some negotiated amount to account for municipal services. For the period from 1999 until 2008, the TPA did not make payments in lieu of property tax to the City of Toronto on the Island Airport in a dispute over the amount of the payment. By 2009, the City estimated that the TPA owed $37 million in unpaid payments in lieu of property tax (PILT). The PILT payments were based on the assessed value as calculated by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation
Municipal Property Assessment Corporation
-About MPAC:The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, or MPAC, administers property assessments and appeals of assessment in the Province of Ontario...
, which assesses all property for the province of Ontario. The City and the TPA presented their case before a federal dispute resolution process. On January 26, 2009, the Dispute Advisory Panel recommended an amount of $5 million that the TPA must pay. This value was based on similar payments made by other airports, which make the payments based on passenger numbers. Pearson Airport at the time of the ruling paid 94 cents per passenger. The ruling by the Dispute Panel works out to 80 cents per passenger. On February 10, 2009, the City applied for a judicial review to the Federal Court of Canada
Federal Court of Canada
The Federal Court of Canada was a national court of Canada that heard some types of disputes arising under the central government's legislative jurisdiction...
.
On November 25, 2009, the City and the TPA came to an agreement in principle to settle all outstanding legal issues. Both sides agreed to accept the other's estimate of monies owned. The City will pay $11.4 million owing on payments related to the 2002 property settlement and $380,559 owing on harbour user fees. The TPA will pay the City $6.4 million owed to resolve the dispute over the PILTs. The agreement, which has been ratified by Toronto City Council, was made in conjunction with the transfer of 18 acres (7.3 ha) of land at Leslie Street and Lake Shore Boulevard for a proposed Toronto Transit Commission
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
(TTC) light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
storage facility.
Bridge proposal
The future of the Island Airport had been a public issue since 1978, when then-Transport MinisterMinister of Transport (Canada)
The Minister of Transport is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's transportation regulatory and development department, Transport Canada...
Otto Lang
Otto Lang
Otto Emil Lang, PC, OC, QC, is a Canadian politician.In 1963, he was appointed Dean of Law at the University of Saskatchewan, the youngest person to be appointed to that position, and served until 1969....
announced a plan to provide daily scheduled airline service between the airport and Ottawa and Montreal, using de Havilland Dash 7 STOL planes. The plan was opposed by then-Mayor John Sewell
John Sewell
John Sewell, CM is a Canadian political activist and writer on municipal affairs; he was the mayor of Toronto, Ontario from 1978 to 1980.-Background:...
and Toronto City Council, representing local residents. Local proponents at the time were the Toronto Board of Trade
Toronto Board of Trade
The Toronto Board of Trade is Toronto's chamber of commerce, the largest local chamber of commerce in Canada, representing more than 10,000 business and individual members with about 500,000 employees across Canada and annual revenues of more than $200 billion .It is a non-profit organization with...
and unionized workers at the de Havilland
De Havilland Canada
The de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. company was an aircraft manufacturer with facilities based in what is now the Downsview area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
plant in Downsview. In 1980, the Canadian Transport Commission turned down the plan stating that the airport's services were not satisfactory and required upgrading. Service was eventually established in 1984 after agreements on noise, jet bans and funding were made in 1983 between the City and Transport Canada. With the ending of direct federal subsidies of the airport in the early 1990s, the Toronto Harbour Commission and its successor the Toronto Port Authority (TPA) became dependent on subsidies from the City of Toronto.
Since 1935, there have been repeated plans to construct either tunnels or a bridge to the airport. The airport continued to require public subsidies and various expansion plans, including jets and airport enlargement were seen as a way to increase its usage and make the airport self-sufficient. Meanwhile during this time, the downtown area surrounding the airport was redeveloped. Whereas it was once port lands and industrial buildings, the area changed with the coming of Harbourfront Centre
Harbourfront Centre
Harbourfront Centre is a key cultural organization on Toronto, Ontario's waterfront, situated at 235 Queen's Quay West. Established as a crown corporation in 1972 by the federal government to create a waterfront park, it became a non-profit organization in 1991. Funding comes from corporate...
, which sparked condominium tower development along the waterfront near the airport and increasing the number of residents in the area.
Opposition to the airport was formalized into the Community AIR (Airport Impact Review)
Community Air
Community Air is a non-profit resident association in the city of Toronto, Canada that seeks to have the Toronto Island Airport) shut down and its lands converted to park land. The association is concerned about noise, pollution and safety aspects of the airport's operation...
volunteer association in 2001, headed by the late activist and former councillor Allan Sparrow. It was formed by local residents to oppose expansion on the grounds of increased air
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
and noise pollution
Noise pollution
Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life...
, safety concerns and that the increase in air traffic will hamper recent government initiatives to rejuvenate the Toronto waterfront
Toronto waterfront
The Toronto waterfront is the lakeshore of Lake Ontario in the City of Toronto, Ontario in Canada. It spans 46 kilometres between the mouth of Etobicoke Creek in the west, and the Rouge River in the East. The entire lakeshore has been significantly altered from its natural glaciated state prior to...
. In July 2001, at a news conference held with representatives of the Sierra Club, the David Suzuki Foundation
David Suzuki Foundation
The David Suzuki Foundation is an environmental organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada It is a non-profit organization that is incorporated in both Canada and the United States, and is funded by over 40,000 donors...
and the Toronto Environmental Alliance
Toronto Environmental Alliance
The Toronto Environmental Alliance is a Canadian non-profit environmental organization. Formed in 1988, TEA provides an activist voice on environmental issues affecting Toronto.-Mandate:TEA's mandate is to promote a greener Toronto...
, the group proposed converting the 200 acres (80.9 ha) airport to parkland. Community Air was and is supported by the City councillors of the area.
It emerged during 2002, that Robert Deluce
Robert Deluce
Robert J. Deluce is a Canadian airline executive. He is currently the president and CEO of regional airline Porter Airlines and a past airline executive with Air Ontario and other airlines.-Career:...
, former executive with Canada 3000
Canada 3000
Canada 3000 Inc. was a Canadian discount charter airline offering domestic and international flights. It was the largest charter airline in the world at the time of its operation, with over 90 destinations worldwide, although it changed to scheduled service in 2000 after the Canadian Airlines and...
, proposed to fly regional turboprop planes from the island airport. Deluce's proposal was initially conditional on the construction of a fixed link to the airport. In 2002, the TPA made plans to link the island to the mainland by a new bridge to serve expanded services.
At the same time, the TPA was pursuing a $1 billion law-suit against the City of Toronto over some 600 acres (242.8 ha) of port-lands it claimed were transferred improperly to the Toronto Economic Development Corporation by the TPA's predecessor, the Toronto Harbour Commission (THC), in the early 1990s during the mayorship of June Rowlands
June Rowlands
June Rowlands was the 60th mayor of Toronto, Ontario, and the first woman to hold that office. She had previously been a long time city councillor, unsuccessful federal candidate, and chair of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission....
The port-lands had been transferred under the direction of THC directors appointed by the City in exchange for a permanent subsidy of the THC under agreements made in 1991 and 1994. The lands had been earmarked for waterfront revitalization by the City after the Crombie Commission. The lawsuit would emerge as a factor in the TPA's plans for expansion of the airport, and City Council support for the TPA's plans for a new bridge became conditional upon the lawsuit being dropped.
The proposal to link the airport with a bridge had been previously approved by Toronto City Council in 1995 and 1998, with the proviso that a business plan would be presented for approval by the THC and later the TPA for operating the airport. In November 2002, City Council met to debate the competing proposals, that of closing the airport in favour of some parkland, or of approving the TPA's plans and having uncontested title to the port lands. Despite pleas from former mayor David Crombie, urban planner/activist Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs, was an American-Canadian writer and activist with primary interest in communities and urban planning and decay. She is best known for The Death and Life of Great American Cities , a powerful critique of the urban renewal policies of the 1950s in the United States...
and Harbourfront
Harbourfront
Harbourfront is a neighbourhood on the northern shore of Lake Ontario within the downtown core of the city of Toronto, Canada. Part of the Toronto Waterfront, Harbourfront extends west from Yonge Street to Bathurst Street along Queen's Quay. East of Yonge to Parliament St...
residents, the TPA plan was supported by then-mayor Mel Lastman
Mel Lastman
Melvin Douglas "Mel" Lastman , nicknamed "Mayor Mel", is a former businessman and politician. He is the founder of the Bad Boy Furniture chain. He served as the mayor of the former city of North York, Ontario, Canada from 1972 until 1997. At the end of 1997, North York, along with five other...
, who argued that the estimated $190 million of annual economic benefit the airport would create, was too good to pass up. On November 28, 2002, Council in a day-long debate, made two votes to settle the issue. First, Council voted 32–9 to accept a settlement to end the TPA port-lands lawsuit in exchange for an immediate payment of $5.5 million and an annual subsidy of $5.5 million to the TPA until 2012. Council then voted 29–11 to approve the amendment of the tripartite agreement to permit a fixed link and the construction of a lift bridge.
The next year, a municipal election year, saw public opinion change to oppose the bridge. In October 2003, a Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
poll listed 53% of residents city-wide opposed the airport bridge, while 36% supported it. Bridge supporter Mel Lastman was retiring. Councillor David Miller
David Miller (Canadian politician)
David Raymond Miller is a Canadian politician. He was the 63rd Mayor of Toronto and the second since the 1998 amalgamation. He was elected to the position in 2003 for a three-year term and re-elected in 2006 for a four-year term...
ran for Mayor on a platform to stop the building of the bridge, a position supported by Community Air and other local community groups. Other mayoral candidates Barbara Hall
Barbara Hall
Barbara Hall is a Canadian lawyer, public servant and former politician. She was the 61st mayor of Toronto, the last to run before amalgamation. She was elected mayor of the pre-amalgamation City of Toronto in 1994, and held office until December 31, 1997...
and John Tory
John Tory
John Howard Tory is a Canadian businessman, political activist, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, former Member of Provincial Parliament and broadcaster...
supported the bridge. Although the bridge was an election issue, and the bridge project still required two federal approvals, the TPA continued developing the project, progressing to the point that contracts were signed with major participants (including companies operating from the airport).
In November 2003, Mr. Miller was elected Mayor of Toronto with 44% of the vote. While construction workers prepared the construction site, Miller immediately started the process to cancel the bridge project, sparking threats of another lawsuit from the TPA. The incoming City Council voted 26–18 in December 2003 to withdraw its support of the bridge project and federal Transport Minister David Collenette
David Collenette
David Michael Collenette, PC was a Canadian politician from 1974 to 2004, and a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. A graduate from York University's Glendon College in 1969, he subsequently received his MA from in 2004...
announced that the federal government would accept the Council's position on the bridge and withdraw its support.
In January 2004, the federal government would put approval of the project on hold, preventing its construction. Immediately, Deluce would file a $505 million lawsuit against the City of Toronto, claiming that Miller "abused his powers", by threatening councillors, had Toronto Fire Services and Toronto Hydro
Toronto Hydro
The Toronto Hydro-Electric System is the local distributor of electric power in the City of Toronto. In 2005 the utility served a peak load of over 5,000 MW and had nearly 600,000 residential and 70,000 commercial and industrial customers, and had around 1,600 employees. In 2005 the corporation...
"interfere with the construction of a fixed link" and lobbying the federal government to "withhold certain permits." The federal government later transferred $35 million to the TPA in May 2005 to settle claims arising from the cancellation from Deluce, Aecon Construction
Aecon
Aecon Canada's biggest publicly traded construction company, operates primarily in Canada but also abroad...
and Stolport Corp. Compensation terms were not disclosed. TPA CEO (Lisa Raitt
Lisa Raitt
Lisa Raitt, PC, MP is a Canadian politician, who is the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for the riding of Halton. She is the current Minister of Labour in the Cabinet of Canada.-Background:...
) commented "You will never hear about the bridge again." and "We have been working very hard since December of 2003 to deal with the request of the City of Toronto not to build a bridge, and we are very happy that the matter has been dealt with." New federal regulations were introduced to ban any future plans to build a fixed link to the airport. The monies from the federal settlement were used by the TPA to purchase a new, larger passenger ferry and by Deluce to renovate the airport terminal.
Late-night landings
At the 2009 TPA annual meeting, concerns were raised about landings at the airport after the 11 pm closing time. Local residents had two concerns: the late-night noise and safety. Control tower staff are not present at Bishop after 11 pm (a practice that is very common at most Canadian airports). In one specific incident in September 2008, a late Porter flight was advised by air traffic controllers to divert to Pearson, but instead landed at Bishop. For the landing, Porter was fined an undisclosed amount by the TPA. Under the airport's curfew agreement, each commercial landing outside the airport's curfew may be subject to a fine of $5,000.Increase in number of flights
On October 19, 2009, the TPA published a press release indicating that other carriers were interested in using the airport and that it was accepting expressions of interest. The TPA noted that any increase in commercial traffic would be within the 1983 tripartite agreement governing usage and noise limits. In December 2009, the TPA announced that it would allow up between 42 and 92 daily landings and takeoffs at the airport, beyond the current 120 per day 'slots' allotted. The slots would be allocated by an International Air Transport AssociationInternational Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...
(IATA)-accredited slot coordinator. These slots would become available after Porter's new terminal building was complete.
In 2009, the Toronto Medical Officer of Health started studying the effects of the pollution from Toronto's airports. The TPA initiated a study by the Jacobs Consultancy to examine the air pollution from the airport, as part of an environmental review of the airport's activities. In January 2010, the Toronto Board of Health started holding hearings into the health effects of the island airport, including the proposed increased traffic.
In March 2010, the opening of Porter's new terminal was met by new protests by Community Air activists protesting the increase in flights. The number of slots is contested by Community Air, which asserts that this contravenes maximums previously calculated:
- 97 by Transport Canada, in May 1998,
- 122 by the Sypher Mueller report to the TPA in 2001,
- 120 by the City of Toronto and the Tassé report, and
- 167 per airport consultant Pryde Schropp McComb in a 2005 study for Porter Airlines.
Air Canada pursued a judicial review of TPA's plans to open the airport to other airlines. The action was heard in Federal Court in July 2010, and the Court dismissed Air Canada's claims against the TPA's decisions of December 2009 and April 2010 with respect to the airport slot allocations. Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
had also been reported as having interest in setting up Canada-U.S. flights from the airport. In June 2010, Air Canada and Continental Airlines received initial approval to fly into and out of the airport. Continental was allocated 16 slots, Air Canada 30 and Porter an additional 44 slots. In October 2010, Air Canada and the TPA concluded an operating agreement, and Air Canada was to begin operating flights starting in February 2011. Air Canada began flying out of the airport on May 1, 2011. However, United Continental Holdings
United Continental Holdings
United Continental Holdings, Inc. , is a publicly traded airline holding company, incorporated in Delaware with headquarters in the United Building in Chicago, Illinois. UCH owns and operates United Airlines, Inc. and Continental Airlines, Inc. both of which use the trade name United Airlines...
, (the merged Continental Airlines and United Airlines) decided not to fly out of the airport.
Pedestrian tunnel
In 2009, the TPA proposed to build a $38 million pedestrian tunnel to the airport from the foot of Bathurst Street. The TPA proposed that the project be paid for in the majority from federal and provincial economic stimulus funds. Critics such as Olivia ChowOlivia Chow
Olivia Chow is a Canadian New Democratic Party Member of Parliament and former city councillor in Toronto. She won the Trinity—Spadina riding for the New Democratic Party on January 23, 2006, becoming a member of the Canadian House of Commons. Most recently, she was re-elected in her riding for...
and Adam Vaughan criticized the proposal as a benefit to a small number of privileged users and a subsidy to Porter Airlines' business. The project was not included on a City-approved list of projects submitted to the federal government. On October 6, 2009, the TPA, having not yet received approval for the tunnel project, announced that it was now too late to proceed to meet the March 2011 completion date deadline condition for the project to receive federal infrastructure stimulus funds.
In January 2010, the TPA announced that it was seeking a private-sector partner to build the pedestrian tunnel. The cost was now estimated to cost $45 million CAD. The cost would be financed by a $5/flight increase in the Airport Fee paid by passengers. On July 12, 2010, the TPA announced that it intends to begin construction of the tunnel as early as 2011, after TPA conducts an environmental assessment. The tunnel will not be built on or over City of Toronto land, meaning that City approval is not required. The TPA also announced that an opinion poll conducted on behalf of the TPA suggested that "a majority (56%) of Torontonians support a pedestrian tunnel to the island airport."
The TPA concluded its environmental assessment of the project in April 2011. The TPA then short-listed three companies to respond to a request for proposals to build the tunnel. The RFP ends in October 2011. In July 2011, an agreement was reached with the City of Toronto, exchanging lands with the Port Authority, enabling the Port Authority to proceed on the pedestrian tunnel. The agreement allows the Port Authority to expand their taxi and parking space for the airport. The City of Toronto will have a water main to serve the Islands included as part of the project.