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|- !bgcolor=" ! colspan="3"|Number of Passengers |29,914,750 |- ! colspan="3"|Aircraft Movements |411,609 |- Toronto Pearson International Airport, or Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport , straddling Mississauga's northeastern boundary with neighbouring Toronto, is Canada's busiest airport and part of the National Airports System. In 2005 the airport was ranked 29th among the world's busiest airports, handling 29.9 million passengers and the 23rd busiest airport for aircraft movements with 409,401. The airport serves the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is the primary hub for Air Canada, although Montreal is its main base. Formerly run by Transport Canada, Toronto Pearson International Airport is now run by a non-profit agency called the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. History The airport first opened in 1939 as Malton Airport. It was renamed Toronto International Airport in 1960, and then to Lester B. Pearson International Airport (LBPIA) in 1984 in honour of Lester B. Pearson, Canada's 14th prime minister. On December 2, 1996, operational control of the airport passed from the Government of Canada to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) as part of the National Airports Policy. The full name of the airport, according to the GTAA, is now "Toronto Pearson International Airport", but it is also sometimes simply called "Pearson." News media and travel agents typically refer to the airport as "Lester B. Pearson International Airport." In 1972, the Canadian government expropriated land east of Toronto for a second major airport, Pickering Airport, to relieve congestion at (then) Toronto International. The project was postponed in 1975 due partly to community opposition, but GTAA revived the plans in 2004. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Toronto Pearson was part of Operation Yellow Ribbon, as it received 19 of the diverted flights that were coming into the United States, even though Transport Canada and NAV CANADA instructed pilots to avoid the airport as a security measure. In 1981, the Canadian Rock group Rush developed an instrumental titled "YYZ" in tribute to the airport. In 2006, Toronto Pearson International Airport selected as the "Best Global Airport 2006" by the Institute of Transport Management (ITM). The ITM is an organization formed in the United Kingdom in 1977 with the express aim of providing further education and information to transport managers. The award is granted on the basis of the ITM's annual aviation research program, conducted by the Institute's research team, that sets out each year to establish which airport has demonstrated the political leadership and commitment backed by considerable investment. The ITM noted that Toronto Pearson has become a growing force within North America, and wider destinations, for its excellent facilities and customer focused attitude towards passengers. In making its decision, the ITM Awards Committee commented that Toronto Pearson's strong management structure has enabled the airport to meet current industry demands through its high operational standards and focus on service excellence. They also praised many other facets of the GTAA's operations and the fact that the GTAA has positioned Toronto Pearson to handle the challenges that lie ahead because of its foresight. Location and access Pearson Airport is located about 32 km (20 miles) west of downtown Toronto. Most of Pearson (including its passenger terminals and airplane facilities) is in Mississauga, but a small eastern portion of land is located in Toronto. The airport is accessible from Highway 427 (just north of the Highway 401 interchange) or from Highway 409, a spur off Highway 401 leading directly into the airport. Each terminal can be accessed by three access roads, one access road per terminal. Bus services connecting Toronto to Pearson Airport include Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) routes, The 192 Airport Rocket route provides all-day accessible express bus service between Kipling Station on the Bloor-Danforth Subway and Pearson Airport. Route The 58A Malton route provides all-day bus service between Lawrence West Station on the Spadina Subway and Pearson Airport. This route also continues beyond the airport to Malton. The following 2 routes are available between the (approximate) hours of 2:00 AM and 6:00 AM daily. The 300A Bloor-Danforth route provides overnight bus service along Danforth Avenue and Bloor Street to Pearson Airport. The 307 Eglinton West route provides overnight bus service between Yonge Street & Eglinton Avenue and Pearson Airport. GO Transit operates a semi-express bus from York Mills and Yorkdale stations, and there is a privately operated "Airport Express" bus serving various major downtown hotels. Mississauga Transit operates a city bus from the Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga's city centre, likewise continuing on to Malton. In July 2006, the LINK Interterminal Shuttle people mover was opened, with two 6-car trains running between Terminals 1 and 3, and a reduced rate and airport staff parking lot on the other side of Airport Road at Viscount Drive. Blue22 dedicated rail link Although the airport is near an existing railway line, it is not currently served by trains. On November 13, 2003, Union Pearson AirLink Group, a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin, was selected to finance, design, construct, operate, and maintain a rail link connecting Pearson with Toronto's Union Station, with a planned travel time of about twenty minutes. The service, to be called Blue22, is expected to eliminate 1.5 million car trips annually. The project, whose cost is estimated at $300-500 million, remains controversial, as only 17% of people using Pearson now travel to downtown Toronto. Travellers headed to suburban destinations will be able to use the service to connect to GO Transit commuter trains at Union Station, but early analyses predict that this will be considered unattractive to most, since people will need to take a train from the airport's suburban location to downtown, only to have to transfer to another train to go back to the suburbs. Its usefulness to travellers not headed downtown may increase, however, if a stop is created at the existing Bloor GO Train station, allowing people to transfer to the TTC subway at its nearby Dundas West station. The traffic on the Canadian National Railway Weston Subdivision caused by the Blue22 service would increase to the point where the level crossings would need to be dismantled (as per Ministry of Transportation and railroad regulatory guidelines). Due to the tight geography of the area, underpasses replacing the level crossings are not feasible options. Residents along the proposed route are concerned that the closure of the level crossings will cut their community in two - hindering business and travel in the area. The Weston Road railway corridor is very busy as it is, home to both the CN Weston Subdivision (a main GO Transit route handling all-day GO Train service between Toronto and Brampton) and the Canadian Pacific Railway Mactier Subdivision (CP Rail's only link to Western Canada from Toronto and a busy freight route). While the addition of the Blue22 service would be of benefit to the airport, the Weston Road residents feel the benefits don't outweigh the needs of their community. Accidents The Etobicoke Creek ravine is very close to the west end of the airport. As it is in the runway overshoot zone and has been involved in two major accidents, there have been calls for the ravine to be improved for safety, perhaps by replacing it with a culvert and levelling the terrain. No doubt this would be an extremely expensive undertaking and it remains to be seen what (if anything) will be done. Opponents of the plan point out that if the ravine is replaced by a culvert, an aircraft that overshoots the end of the culvert may end up in Highway 401, North America's busiest highway, on the southern border of the airport. This adds a complexity to the design of any culvert, particularly one for Runway 24L. Terminals and airlines
Malton Airport Terminal The first airport terminal was built in 1938 by the Toronto Harbour Commission and consisted of a standard frame terminal building from a converted farm house. The original airport covered 420 acres with full lighting, radio, weather reporting equipment, two hard surface runways and one grass landing strip. The airport was sold to the City of Toronto in 1940 and used as a military training airport. In 1942 air traffic control centre was added to Malton. A second building, similar to the existing structure at the Toronto City Centre Airport, was built to replace the old terminal in 1949 and was able to handle 400,000 passengers a year. It was demolished in the late 1960s to make way for the old T1 building. In 1958 Transport Canada took control over Toronto Airport from the City. The runways for Malton consisted of: Old Terminal 1 The original T1 or Aeroquay One was a round 10 floor structure with a two level passenger area. The squared parking structure was located in the middle and access via a spiral ramp. It was designed by John Burnett Parkin and built between 1957 and 1964. State of the art in the 1960s, the terminal was obsolete by the early 1970s and resulted in the building of Terminal 2 in 1968. The Aeroquay has since been demolished to make way for the new T1. Statistics for Aeroquay One: Infield Terminal (IFT) Constructed during 2001/02 to handle traffic displaced during the Terminal 1 development. Consists of 11 gates (521 to 531) used by Star Alliance (mainly Air Canada) International flights. Contains retail and catering outlets and an Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge. Reached by a bus shuttle initially from Gate GG of the Old Terminal 1, then a dedicated Airside Bus Transfer facility at the new Terminal 1. New Terminal 1 (T1-New) T1 is designed to handle domestic, international and transborder flights in one facility. The original design called for separate concourses to handle the different types of traffic. The design actually adopted in T1 places transborder departures and arrivals on a mezzanine level, and uses "swing gates" to allow any gate to channel arriving passengers to domestic, international or transborder arrivals facilities. Currently, some international flights said to depart from Terminal 1 actually depart from the infield terminal. From November 1, 2005 many flights were transferred from IFT to T1-New. The terminal is designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill International Ltd., Adamson Associates Architects, and Moshe Safdie and Associates. Terminal 2 - US Arrivals and Departures only The two floor, 26 gate terminal 2 was originally built in 1968 as a freight terminal, but it was converted to commercial traffic due to over capacity at old Terminal 1. It now handles transborder traffic to the US for Air Canada and their Star Alliance partner United Airlines, but these flights will move to the new Terminal 1 during early 2007 and Terminal 2 will be demolished during 2007 and into 2008. A 5 floor parking garage is attached to the north of the terminal building. Terminal 2 has a United States border preclearance facility. Most of Air Canada's passengers in Terminal 2 use the Self-serve checkin kiosks to receive their boarding passes and wait in line for their bags to be tagged. All checked bags from airlines serving Terminal 2--United Airlines and Air Canada, are taken with the passenger through U.S. Customs for the preclearance. Bags are left in an area between U.S. Customs and security check where the bags are to be put on a conveyor belt. After U.S. Customs clearance, all flights to the United States are treated as U.S. domestic flights upon arrival. Note that this terminal will be shut down in early 2007 and all US-bound flights will operate out of Pier F in T1. Terminal 3
Charters In addition, many cargo airlines serve the airport. See also | |||||||||||
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