'Let's fix the runway now': Changes could be coming to Billy Bishop Airport

Porter staff direct travellers at Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto on Friday, July 19, 2024. Porter Airlines suspended flights until at least noon as a global tech outage affected flights at the airline. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

The island airport will be back on the agenda at Toronto City Hall today as a new report about extending the runway at Billy Bishop Airport comes to Mayor Olivia Chow's Executive Committee.

PortsToronto is facing a federal regulatory deadline of July 12, 2027 to have a Runway Safety End Area (RESA) at Billy Bishop.

The federal government added the requirement for all airports in Canada in 2021. It means that airports need to have at least 150 meters of safety length at each end of the runways that serve commercial flights in order to help planes avoid missing the runway.

City staff are recommending a limited amendment of the tripartide agreement that governs the airport in order to add mass to the island to extend the runway.

At the same time PortsToronto is asking that its lease to operate the airport be extended by 40 years through 2073 in order to allow a longer window for financing the runway expansion.

City staff are recommending an option to extend the runway, but are not recommending an extension of the lease, which is set to expire in 2033.

Some local groups have said they oppose any expansion of operations or infrastructure at the airport at all.

Speaking with reporters ahead of the meeting Tuesday, Mayor Olivia Chow said she fully supports the runway expansion option proposed by city staff, which the report notes has the smallest impact to life near the waterfront.

"For 14 years Billy Bishop airport knows that runway is too short. So what should be the goal? Build as quickly as possible a runway that is long enough to make it safe," Chow said. "That is our top priority because heaven forbid, I don't want a plane having trouble because the runway is not long enough."

She said that while the issue of the airport always invites passionate views about whether it should be scrapped or expanded, the runway decision should not be an invitation to reopen the entire debate about the airport's future.

"That airport—people always say that should be a park, others say we should fly jets. That's not the debate in front of us," Chow said.

She added that the question of the tripartide agreement is "a long conversation" that can be had at another time.

"We can have that conversation after we fix the runway. Let's fix the runway now," Chow said.