TORONTO -- Porter Airlines said Tuesday it has revised its proposed expansion plans of the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to include a longer extension of the runway.
The airline, which flies out of the Toronto island airport, said it now needs to extend the main runway by a total of 200 metres at both ends in a process that will involve filling in part of the lake, so it can fly its new fleet of jets.
In plans announced in June, Porter had said it only needed to further the runway by 168 metres. The airline said the amendment will give the planes additional take-off runway distance and will minimize noise.
Porter has asked the city, Transport Canada and the Toronto Port Authority to amend a tripartite agreement that prevents jets from using the island airport except under special circumstances.
It has already placed a conditional order with Bombardier for 12 CS100 aircraft, with 18 options, worth about US$2.08 billion.
The greater range of the CS100 will allow the airline to fly to destinations like Los Angeles, Florida, Calgary and the Caribbean from Toronto.
If Porter's plan is approved, the first new planes are expected to be delivered in 2016.
Anshul Kapoor, chair of NoJetsTO, which is against the airport expansion, said in a release that the revised expansion will impact boaters and other lake users by "paving even more of Lake Ontario."
