Toronto City Council voted in favour of getting staff to analyze Porter Airlines’s proposed operation of Bombardier CSeries jets from Billy Bishop Airport.
- Porter Airlines is hoping to fly Bombardier CSeries jets from Billy Bishop Airport.
The airline has announced it will buy 30 CS100 models of the new aircraft if it can get permission to fly them from its hub on the Toronto Island airport.
Jets were banned at the island airport off the Toronto waterfront 30 years ago but Porter Airlines President Robert Deluce said in an op/ed column that the CSeries is a “whisper jet” that makes that rationale irrelevant.
The runway at Billy Bishop is not long enough for the C100 and will require 500-foot extensions at each end, something Deluce claims can be accommodated without affecting boating.
The request by Porter has been controversial but Deluce says it will bring major benefits. The CSeries can reach Vancouver, Las Vegas and other major North American destinations non-stop from the downtown airport.
Council voted 29-15 in favour of going ahead with the report and there were heated moments in the 4.5 hour debate. The report will be ready in October.