Windsor airport joins new Southern Ontario network
Windsor’s airport has joined a new network of 11 Ontario airports in a bid to satisfy the growing consumer demand for air travel.
The Southern Ontario Airport Network was launched on Tuesday with the vision that the province’s leading commercial airports will “work together to support growth and amplify the overall impact of air service for southern Ontario.”
Toronto’s Pearson International Airport — which has plans to become a “mega hub airport” — is the leading member of the network and has a mandate to attract and accommodate even more international routes and passengers.
A study done for the network estimates the number of air travellers to southern Ontario will more than double to 110 million by 2043, and airports have to plan in advance to avoid congestion that could stifle economic development, said Howard Eng, president of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority.
Jim McCormack, Windsor International Airport’s director of finance, noted that there are 6.5 million people within a 90-minute drive of Windsor’s airport.
“YQG is ideally positioned geographically as a key network entry point for U.S. citizens travelling to Canada or internationally,” McCormack stated.
“A Pearson mega hub will facilitate YQG attracting even more U.S. customers, and those additional passengers can in turn help Pearson reach and maintain mega hub status.”
In the short term, the new network will seek to complete an economic analysis of the impact of its member airports on their regions and the province.
Other goals include looking at the ground transportation needs in southern Ontario, and developing strategies for “responsible and sustainable airport growth including community engagement and noise management.”
YQG is ideally positioned geographically as a key network entry point for U.S. citizens travelling to Canada.
Toronto’s Eng said that if Ontario does not take action to increase its air travel capacity for the future, it stands to leave 20 million passengers and potentially $15 billion in gross domestic product “on the table.”
Eng praised the SOAN as a way for its member airports to “come together and start brainstorming ways to capitalize on this incredible opportunity.”