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Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto. Where Gumbo was #77

05 Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto
06 Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto
Gumbo's heading out to Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ), sometimes also called Toronto Island Airport.  Congratulations to ace travel sleuths Roderick Simpson and PortMoresby (by email) for being the first to correctly identify the airport, then name it later, as did Ottoman.  Billy Bishop recently celebrated its 75th Anniversary.   It is owned and operated by the Toronto Port Authority.
 

01 Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto

02 Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto

 

Billy Bishop airport is fairly unique, at least in my experience, in that it sits on an island close to the heart of a major metropolis (the only similar scenario I've ever encounter was Prince Rupert, B.C.'s airport, but that's just for a small city).  Billy Bishop airport is surrounded by one of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario, and currently the only way to get there is by ferry -- one of the world's 

shortest ferry rides (121 meters).  The ferry service is free to pedestrians and $11 for a car (round trip); there’s a ferry every 15 minutes.  

 

 

 

 

 

Billy Bishop services about 2.3 million passengers a year with air connections to 18 cities in Canada and the U.S.A.  It's Canada's 9th busiest airport.  The island's relatively short runways limit the size of planes that can land here, also evidenced by the shorter hangers several of you observed in our puzzle photo.  There's talk of adding land to the island and making the runways longer so larger planes can land, but who knows if that will ever happen. 

 

03 Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto

07 Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto

 

Because Billy Bishop airport is in very close proximity to downtown Toronto (unlike Toronto's major international terminal, Pearson Airport, which is a half hour cab ride away and which has huge crowds and long lines), it's popular with business travelers and residents of downtown, especially if they need to make a short flight to Ottawa, Montreal or Chicago for example.  
 

09 Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto

10 Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto

  

The ferry service will largely be replaced next year by a pedestrian tunnel, whose opening is scheduled for 2015.  The tunnel is being built under Lake Ontario, linking the Island airport with the mainland for those willing to walk the 125 meters.  Ferry traffic likely will continue and for those who want one of Toronto's most memorable skyline views, I'd opt for the ferry service instead.   

 

11 Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto

12 Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto

 

 

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  • Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto
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  • Ferry to Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto
  • Ferry to Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto
  • Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto
  • Ferry to Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto
  • Toronto terminal,  Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto
  • Toronto terminal,  Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto
  • Toronto terminal,  Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto
  • Toronto skyline viewed from ferry to Billy Bishop Airport
  • Plans for pedestrian tunnel, Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto

Twitter: @DrFumblefinger

"We do not take a trip, a trip takes us".  John Steinbeck, from Travels with Charlie

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Comments (3)

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In case you were curious, the pedestrian tunnel between Toronto and the island airport has been completed and is now open.  It eliminates the waits for the ferry services for passengers who want to get to their departure gates.

 

More on that story from Frequent Business Traveler at this link.

Twitter: @DrFumblefinger

"We do not take a trip, a trip takes us".  John Steinbeck, from Travels with Charlie

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