Billy Bishop airport upgrades complete
TORONTO • The three-year rehabilitation program at the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport should lead to improved passenger experience, says the chief executive officer of the company that runs the facility’s passenger terminal.
“It also helps us with capacity planning and gives us more opportunities, with more gates we can have more aircraft parking,” said Neil Pakey, CEO of Nieuport Aviation Infrastructure Partners GP, which owns and operates the passenger terminal at Billy Bishop airport. “We hope that will have a positive bearing on our future here.”
Investors in Nieuport include AGF Management Ltd. and Larry Tanenbaum, part owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team.
On Monday, the company said final updates to its airport gates are now complete at the passenger terminal. The 11 gates, seven of which were re-built, will increase speed and accessibility while boarding from the terminal.
The new gates come two months after the completion of the Billy Bishop Airfield Rehabilitation Program, a three-year project to refurbish runways, add LED lights and a three-sided structure used to dampen sound from aircraft startup. The project was completed 60 days ahead of schedule and cost PortsToronto $35 million, according to a PortsToronto news release.
Nieuport began operating the terminal in 2015, taking over from Porter. Traffic at Billy Bishop has surged this decade to about 2.8 million passengers last year, from 1.5 million in 2010.
Billy Bishop airport saw monthly passenger levels hit a record over the summer, with 267,094 passengers in June, 264,866 passengers in July, and 285,211 passengers in August, surpassing the previous monthly record set in August 2017.
“We decided to do a terminal upgrade both to accommodate our 2.8 million passengers and to modernize the airport, which is a key part of downtown Toronto’s infrastructure,” said Rebecca Thompson, a spokesperson for Nieuport Aviation.
The airport is situated on an island in Toronto’s harbour and connected to the mainland by a pedestrian tunnel with moving walkways.
“It’s an important part of the waterfront that doesn’t get as much attention these days, but these upgrades are an important part of the heart of the city of downtown Toronto,” Thompson said.
Other updates to the new terminal include more electronic charging stations, refreshed business areas and three new restaurants.
“Having 11 gates will ensure that Billy Bishop airport can get its passengers where they need to go by providing increased efficiency and flexibility, especially in peak flow periods,” Geoffrey Wilson, CEO of PortsToronto, said in a press release.