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Toronto City Centre Airport Facts
Location	Toronto City Centre Airport is located on 80.9 hectares (200 acres) at the western end of Toronto Islands, "on the city's front doorstep." The Island Airport (as it is also known as) is now linked across the Western Gap by ferry services.

Ferry Access	The passenger and vehicle ferry, TCCA 1, makes the round trip across the 121 metre-wide (400 feet) Western Channel every 15 minutes during airport operating hours.

Aircraft Accommodation	With a 1,212 metre long (4,000 feet) runway and two 909 metre (3,000 feet) runways, the airport can accommodate most regional scheduled airlines and general aviation aircraft. There is also a seaplane base located just east of the main apron. Turbofan traffic is prohibited except in emergencies.

Traffic	The TCCA presently accommodates commuter airlines and is popular as a training base for civilian pilots. It ranks yearly among Canada's busiest airfields. The record for aircraft movements --240,339-- was set in 1967. In recent times the airport has experienced annual movements of 100,000 to 160,000.

Current Arrangements	The operation of the airport is governed by a Tri-parite agreement. The signatories are : The Toronto Port Authority, The Federal Government, and the City of Toronto.

Air Traffic Movements	The current number of landings and take-offs at TCCA is 120,000 annually. This has decreased from a high of 240,000 in 1962, and 198,000 in 1987.

Air Quality	A KPMG Peat Marwick Stevenson & Kellog study on TCCA was carried out in May, 1991 for the City of Toronto. It reported that under the present scenario, traffic on 5 km of the Gardiner Expressway (6,000 vehicles per hour with an average speed of 80 km/hr.) provided significantly large sources of all three major pollutants by at least a factor of 2 in the case of HC, and a factor of 5 for NOx in comparison with emissions of the Toronto City Center Airport. Less favourable conditions on the expressway eg. more traffic a lower speed and lower ambient temperature would result in even larger differences. Other roads in the area of the Airport, such as Lakeshore Road and Bathurst Street, are also major sources of air pollutants. Although these roads do not carry as much traffic as the Gardiner Expressway, vehicles generally travel at lower speeds and many of them will be operating in cold start or hot start modes, resulting in significantly higher emissions per kilometre travelled. When these and other sources in the area, eg., railway locomotives, commercial and residential furnaces, are considered, the relative contribution of the airport is further reduced. From the above information, there appears to be no evidence to suggest that emissions from operations at the Toronto City Centre Airport result in undesirable air quality in the airport vicinity.

Water Quality	TCCA has had a water sampling and mitigation programme in place since 1992. All storm water discharged into Lake Ontario is closely monitored and tested. TCCA has created a new Glycol Containment Area where the run-off goes directly into storm sewers connected to Metro Toronto Sanitary Sewage Network.The TCCA has remained and will continue to remain within the environmental limits as established by governmental authorities. Aircraft utilizing TCCA do not require fuel jettison capabilities. A fuel jettison area, for heavy aircraft utilizing Lester B. Pearson International Airport, is established in an area 20 to 50 nautical miles east of Toronto. Fuel jettison occurs very infrequently and when necessary, is done above 10,000 ft. so the fuel is vaporized before reaching the surface.

Wild Life	The airport does not decimate wild life. No birds or wild life are deliberately killed by anyone at TCCA. TCCA has, according to Transport Canada statistics, consistently the lowest number of bird strikes of any comparable airport in the region.

Traffic	The TCCA is not an integral part of the air traffic control system that surrounds Pearson International Airport. Air traffic into and out of the TCCA is controlled by the TCCA with approaches and departures routed over the lake away from residential areas. As the majority of the passengers are business travelers, utilizing the buses provided to downtown, vehicle traffic has and is projected to only increase slightly. Turboprop and turbofan aircrafts are normally on IFR flight plans, consequently there will be less flights per hour with the inclusion of more of those quiet type of aircraft at TCCA. Vehicle traffic will increase only slightly, as the majority of passengers would utilize the present bus system. This is again clearly substantiated in the KPMG Study commissioned by the City of Toronto.

Noise	Quiet turboprop, or turbofan, aircraft which may utilize the airport are in fact quieter than some piston and turbo prop aircraft presently using the airport. A flight tracking and noise monitoring system has been introduced at the airport which substantiates this fact. A recent Transport Canada Noise Study, which was carried out in conjunction with the City of Toronto and neighbourhood communities, clearly established the fact that noise from the TCCA was not a factor to local communities in comparison with other noise sources, particularly the Gardiner Expressway.

Public Risk	The approach and take-off paths to the main runways at TCCA are completely over water and non-residential areas. The total residential population within the 25 Noise Environment Factor Contour (NEF) at Lester B. Pearson International Airport is over 190,000; the total residential population within the 25 NEF Contour at TCCA is zero.

Safety	The Intergovernmental Working Group Committee, comprised of all levels of government-federal, provincial, municipal and local, unanimously recommended that a fixed link to TCCA be constructed as soon as possible. This recommendation was endorsed by the City Council of Toronto.

Summary	Both Federal and Provincial governments have withdrawn funding from the Toronto City Center Airport. Acres International conducted an Economic Viability Study for the Toronto Harbour Commission in 1988 that stated that the airport can become a profitable entity, providing increased employment, business tax revenues and economic development to the City of Toronto. For this to occur, changes to the operating criteria of the airport are being agreed to. These changes can be made, while at the same time safeguarding the environmental and social aspects of the surrounding area. City Centre Airports operate in Europe, the Middle East and the United States of America with great success. The TCCA is an ideal alternative to Lester B. Pearson International Airport.