History of Toronto Pearson International Airport
Pearson instead became the primary airport for the Greater Toronto Area and the entire Golden Horseshoe region.
Trans-Canada Air Lines was expected to begin operations in 1937, and the Government of Canada wanted to build an airport to serve Toronto.
[3] The committee proposed several locations and of these two were approved by the Government of Canada, which agreed to fund one-quarter of the project.
The airport at the time covered 170 hectares (420 acres) with full lighting, radio, weather reporting equipment, two hard surface runways, and one grass landing strip.
[10] The first scheduled passenger flight to Malton Airport was a Trans-Canada Air Lines DC-3 that landed on August 29, 1939.
[11] From June 1940 to July 1942, during the Second World War, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) operated No.
The aerodrome was listed with three runways as follows: [15] During the World War II BCATP built six hangars, drill hall and several h-huts and administrative buildings to support the training program.
10 Aeronautical Inspection District occupied the training school facilities with Veterans Affairs utilizing the huts[14] The RCAF left Malton in 1946 and the buildings later demolished as the airport expanded.
In front of the old terminal was a set of stairs leading to a ramp to allow visitors to access the rooftop observation deck.
U.S. federal government concerns over smuggling between precleared and non-cleared passengers at Toronto International (who at that time shared mixed terminal space) nearly ended the program in the 1970s, until a compromise was reached that called for segregated facilities.
Aeroquay One (also called Terminal 1) had a square central structure housing ticketing and baggage facilities topped by a parking garage with about eight levels and ringed by a two-storey passenger concourse leading to the gates.
Initially, it served only charter airlines, but it became the hub for Air Canada passenger flights on April 29, 1973.
[20] Terminal 2 had a facility for United States border preclearance and handled both domestic and international trans-border traffic.
In order to pay for the project cost, landing fees were hiked significantly to levels similar to those of the world's busiest international airports like Heathrow Airport, leading to criticism from existing airline tenants including Air Canada whose CEO Robert Milton boycotted the opening ceremony.
[1][2] However GTAA president and CEO Lou Turpen had correctly assumed that airlines would stay at Toronto Pearson despite the high fees and continued with the next phase of construction.
[25] After its initial closure, the Infield Terminal has been frequently used as a location to film major motion pictures and television productions.
Expansion of Terminal 3 continued with the opening of the East Processor Extension (EPE) in June 2006, adding 40 check-in counters, new retail space, additional secure 'hold-screening' for baggage, and a huge picture window that offers one of the most convenient apron viewing locations at the airport.
This phase of the expansion also included improved Canada Border services and a more open arrivals hall.
[30] During the September 11 attacks in 2001, Toronto Pearson International Airport played a role in Operation Yellow Ribbon.
[33] In December 2015, the Infield Terminal was upgraded and temporarily reopened to handle the Syrian refugees accepted and re-settling in Canada.
[37] Today, Pearson Int'l Airport covers a sprawling 4,600 acres (7.2 sq.mi., 18.6 km2) of land with five concrete/asphalt runways ranging from 9,000-11,120 feet in length, all able to handle widebody jet aircraft, along with 30 taxiways.
