Why Organized Labour Will Like Pickering Airport

By Mark Brooks Jerry Dias, the President of Unifor, knows first-hand how terribly unforgiving the aviation industry can be. As president of Unifor, he represents more than 315,000 Canadian workers, including thousands of highly-skilled pilots, engineers and aircraft manufacturing workers. In August 2021, he threw his weight behind 700 striking De Havilland Aircraft of Canada […]

Passenger Aviation in the Toronto Region Will Recover Sooner than Expected

By Ted Nickerson To say that commercial aviation has been devastated globally by the COVID19 pandemic would simply be stating the obvious.  Millions of jobs and many billions of dollars have been lost. Some airlines may never recover. Now in June 2021, there is light. What is the long-term effect of COVID on global mobility? […]

Planning Canada’s Electric Flight Future

By Mark Brooks Authorities have drawn up a programme for the introduction of electric aircraft. It will be part of a national net zero carbon footprint transport plan to be published in spring 2022 and put to the country’s parliament. It starts with a few airports and a locally built 19-seat electric aircraft. By 2040, […]

Why Building Pickering Airport is good for your Health

By Mark Brooks One of the un-championed benefits of the new airport in Pickering will be its distance from nearby subdivisions. Unlike other Toronto airports that will need to be expanded if Pickering is delayed, the new airport is kilometres away from subdivisions. It will be buffered by both a new park as well as […]

We need Pickering Airport now!

By Mark Brooks Traffic at Oshawa airport is now above pre-pandemic levels.  The hangars at airports in the Toronto region are full, some with a waiting list of commercial and private aircraft. At Oshawa a flight school is being culled to reduce noise. Jobs and millions in economic activity are being lost due to the […]

$4 Billion in “Modest Expansions” Accounting

The Study commissioned by Transport Canada, Pickering Lands Aviation Sector Analysis, concludes that through “modest expansions in aircraft apron and air terminal facilities”, Pickering Airport’s passenger capacity is not needed before 2036. The Study uses the phrase “modest expansions” to describe billions of dollars of additional aviation facilities that are stunning in both scope and cost.  All […]

Ending the “Build Pickering Last” Strategy

On March 5, 2020, Transport Canada released the Pickering Lands Aviation Sector Analysis (the Study). It was much awaited, and hopefully will be the definitive study on the need for and timing of a new commercial airport in Pickering, Ontario. Its message is simply, “The question is now when, not if, a new airport should be built”. […]

Pickering Airport in a Post-Pandemic Toronto

Right now the Canadian economy is crashing under the fear and anxiety created by a global pandemic. Under today’s conditions, communal vehicles – buses, trains and planes – are breeding grounds for the virus. Until today, the number one method of communal travel between provinces and internationally was air travel. Post-event, how will the pandemic change […]

Business and General Aviation at Pickering Airport

From group evacuations, to moving corporate or government decision makers and technical specialists, Business Aviation (BA) is seeing a major bump from the fears of a global COVID-19 pandemic.  Business aviation is once again showing the important logistical role it plays in Canada. But a new restrictive BA reservation system at Toronto Pearson International Airport […]

Rail Blockades Reinforce Need for Pickering Airport

This week Canadians have been reminded about the fragility of our transportation system. Firstly, protesters caused rail service, including VIA passenger trains, to be shut down across the country just by blocking a few key rail junctions. Secondly, fear of the new Coronavirus has heightened anxiety worldwide that overcrowded public spaces, such as Toronto Pearson […]