After three years of construction, the underground pedestrian tunnel linking Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to the mainland will open today, Thursday, July 30th at 1:30 pm.
The $80 million project links the Toronto Islands to the city on the mainland for the first time in history, via a tunnel constructed underneath the western channel of Toronto’s harbor. Access to the increasingly busy Island Airport has previously been restricted to a regular passenger and vehicular ferry, but as of today travelers will be able to come and go to YTZ as they please via the 260-metre-long tunnel.
The tunnel link has a capacity of 1,000 people at one time, and is equipped with two moving sidewalks and multiple escalators as well as stairways and walkways to speed airport users to and from the airport. The tunnel link entrances have also been decorated with bronze statues of Canadian wartime flying aces on the mainland, including the airport’s namesake Billy Bishop, while a replica of Bishop’s WWI biplane is suspended above the stairwell in the island-side terminal.
The opening of this tunnel will likely lead to adjustments in Global Alliance’s meeting procedures for passengers arriving into Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Please watch this space for more updates and ask your Global Alliance reservations agent about the latest developments concerning the new YTZ tunnel and changes in operations at the airport site.