Toronto Airport Pedestrian Tunnel Opens Under Lake Ontario

With much fanfare, the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Pedestrian Tunnel opened Thursday.

The tunnel, which was built under Toronto Harbor on Lake Ontario, provides a direct connection from the airport to downtown Toronto by a public-private partnership.  It was built to decrease the amount of time it takes for passengers to get to the island airport and eliminate the need to travel to the airport by ferry.

Passengers arriving at the mainland terminal lobby take one of six elevators to go down 105 feet (32 meters) to the 610-foot (186-meter) long 36-foot (11-meter) wide tunnel.  Once at the airport, escalators and elevators transport passengers to the airport’s ground floor lobby.

The airport, named after Air Marshal Billy Bishop, a World War I flying ace, is served by Air Canada Express and Porter Airlines as well as by civil aviation and air ambulances.  It is the country’s ninth-busiest airport by passenger numbers and 14th by aircraft movements.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)