Buttonville Airport…more than just a small airport!
I realise that most people who are not regular visitors to the airport probably know very little about Buttonville and its importance to the Greater Toronto Area. The general consensus is that Buttonville is as a small airport that is used by rich people for recreation. There is some truth to that (although flying for fun usually makes you poor), but the majority of the traffic comes from a wide variety of other sources. Below I have summarized some interesting facts about Buttonville taken from an article posted here by COPA(Canadian Owners and Pilots Association) and from my own knowledge.
– Opened as a grass airstrip in 1953
– Owned privately by the Sifton Family
– Has two paved runways
– 11th busiest airport in Canada in front of Edmonton, Winnipeg, Quebec City and Halifax. In 2008 there were approximately 164,000 aircraft take-offs or landings there. That amount of traffic can not be absorbed by the combined local airports. It is also the busiest General Aviation airport in Canada.
– 300+ aircraft are based there
– Used by some of the best flight schools in Canada(Toronto Airways, Seneca), Air ambulance(ORNGE), RCMP, Police, traffic planes/helicoptors, business, charter, movies productions, celebrities and recreational pilots
– Allows jet airplanes (city centre airport does not)
– creates approximately 550 full-time jobs (not to mention the benefit to surrounding business’ of the airport) and contributes $96 million to GDP
If you are interested in learning more click here or if you have a comment/question please comment below.
A new beginning for General Aviation…
The inevitable closure of Buttonville Municipal airport, Canada’s 7th busiest airport, has been looming over the heads of businesses, students and pilots alike since the announced sale. 170,000 aircraft movements per year need a new home and fast because the airport is set to close within 3 years. The combined, “close” proximity airports, Oshawa, Downsview, Toronto Billy Bishop and Lake Simcoe Regional are not able to expand enough to accommodate the massive amount of aircraft movements Buttonville entertains each and every year.
For decades there have been proposals to build an international airport on land in Pickering which has been met with continuous protests since 1972. The government expropriated the land with the intention to build an international airport 40 years ago and since then, the lands have remained empty and unused. All that may change in the very near future as the Pickering Airpark seems to be gaining some ground and that is only good news for General Aviation folk like me. According to their website, http://www.pickeringairpark.com/, they are hoping to break ground as early as August 2012 and have the airport in operation by the time Buttonville marks their runways with dreaded large white X’s.
Fly Dan Air 