Future of Toronto's Billy Bishop airport now uncertain

Mayor Olivia Chow's executive committee may have approved a necessary airstrip extension for Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on Tuesday, but the future of the hub is still very much in the air.

The additions of 150 metre-long Runway End Safety Areas (RESAs) — which will come in the most scaled-back, inexpensive and quickest to build form out of three potential options, per yesterday's decision — are compulsory for the island facility to adhere to new federal regulations that come into effect in summer 2027.

As such, the committee greenlit a proposal to expand "the available landmass" of the island by the minimum amount required, to the tune of just under $65 million.

Though this is ostensibly a relief for PortsToronto, which operates the airport and can get to work on the project as soon as it gets the final okay from council next week, the authority still says it is being let down by the City.

The key issue now is the tripartite agreement that governs PortsToronto's lease on the site — something Chow is refusing to extend beyond its 2033 expiry at this time, though stakeholders say an extension is absolutely imperative to fund the new RESAs.

I agree with Norm on having a transparent process about the island airport. However, I will always be a supporter of retaining and growing Billy Bishop so our city can finally grow up and not rely on Mississauga to welcome the world to Toronto. https://t.co/KK5EwjtNIP

— Theresa (@TheresaLubowitz) October 2, 2024

"In order to meet the deadline and implement these safety areas, PortsToronto requires two enablers tied to the Tripartite Agreement — the extension of a landmass to accommodate the safety areas, and an extension of the term of the Tripartite Agreement to secure financing to pay for the RESAs," PortsToronto's Vice-President of Airport, Warren Askew, told blogTO over email Tuesday.

"Regardless of the option ultimately chosen, a landmass and term extension will be required. RESA cannot be accommodated on the airport's current landmass footprint, and PortsToronto does not have the cash reserves to fund this expensive capital project. We will need to secure financing and this will be impossible on a nine-year term. Certainty beyond 2033 will be essential to secure financing."

This is one of the most important decisions of the century in Toronto. @shelleycarroll wants to give the airport everything it wants, in a rush, with no consultation. Why? https://t.co/gDJ57j3XA8

— Alex Bozikovic (@alexbozikovic) October 2, 2024

While some locals and groups remain opposed to Billy Bishop in general, wondering if the city needs two airports and if the space would be better used as a park, leaders are pretty agreed upon the fact that the airport "will be here for a long time," as Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie said yesterday. "It services many people... a wide array of stakeholders with a wide array of benefits."

Along with being voted the best airport in Canada this summer and taking another step toward a forthcoming U.S. pre-clearance checkpoint just last week, the hub is the ninth-busiest in the country and the fifth-busiest for service south of the border specifically, moving some 2.8 million passengers each year.

Crucial funding for the RESAs aside, there is also the more minor issue of which of the options the executive committee selected: the most basic that didn't include things like new noise walls, scenic pedestrian pathways and other features that were in the other plans.