Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport — Attraction in Toronto

At Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, ingenious infrastructure engineering creates Canada's most integrated urban aviation experience—an island terminal linked seamlessly to downtown Toronto through one of contemporary transportation design's most remarkable solutions.

The airport's defining element is its award-winning pedestrian tunnel, an $82.5-million marvel designed by ZAS Architects + Interiors with engineering by Arup and construction by PCL and Technicore. This 853-foot subterranean passage, burrowing 100 feet beneath Lake Ontario's Western Gap, transformed accessibility when completed in 2015, earning both the International Tunneling Association's "Specialist Tunneling Project of the Year" and the Tunneling Association of Canada's "Canadian Project of the Year" awards.

ZAS principal Paul Stevens' vision addressed the psychological challenge of underground transit with carefully proportioned spaces. The mainland pavilion—a minimalist glass-clad structure—houses six elevators descending to the main passage equipped with four moving sidewalks traveling at 2.3 km/h. At the island end, Canada's longest escalator system rises dramatically beneath a wing-shaped glass roof, creating a welcoming atrium flooded with natural light and framing panoramic skyline views.

The tunnel's construction required innovative techniques to ensure watertightness, incorporating specialized equipment to excavate through shale and bedrock while integrating three City of Toronto water and sewer mains—demonstrating a hybrid infrastructure approach maximizing civic utility. Acoustically engineered to suppress noise buildup, the tunnel creates a surprisingly serene transit experience.

Established in 1939, Billy Bishop served military functions during WWII before returning to civilian use. The airport was renamed in 2009 to honor WWI flying ace William Avery "Billy" Bishop, commemorated through artifacts including a life-sized bronze statue and replica Nieuport 17 biplane hovering dramatically above the escalators.

For travelers, Billy Bishop's urban integration is unparalleled. Located just three kilometers from downtown, the airport is accessible by public transit, taxi, bicycle, free 90-second ferry service (one of the world's shortest scheduled ferry routes), or complimentary shuttle to Union Station. This multimodal connectivity establishes Billy Bishop as one of North America's most walkable and bikeable airports.

The passenger experience emphasizes efficient convenience through thoughtful design. The single-terminal configuration features check-in counters and security on the upper level, with departures below. In 2023, the Aspire | Air Canada Café became the airport's first passenger lounge. Dining options showcase Toronto's culinary diversity with locally sourced ingredients, while retail spaces offer uniquely Canadian products.

Security areas accommodate processing up to 4,200 passengers daily during peak periods. Operating from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM, the airport serves over 20 destinations across Canada and the U.S., hosting approximately 2.8 million passengers annually—remarkable given its compact footprint.

Sustainability initiatives include powering operations with 100% renewable energy from Bullfrog Power since 2010—everything from moving sidewalks to the fully electric Marilyn Bell ferry.

For architecture enthusiasts, Billy Bishop exemplifies how technical innovation and contextual design can overcome seemingly impossible site constraints. The entire arrival/departure sequence becomes an architectural promenade, transforming the typically mundane airport access experience into a memorable spatial journey through distinctive environments—from the glass pavilion to the tunnel with its moving sidewalks, then ascending the dramatic escalator system beneath a sculptural roof that frames the...

I don't know where to place the blame for this recent fiasco. We decided to valet park our truck at Billy Bishop for a short trip out east. The initial registration process was fine, more or less. No mention of what the cost would be, nor how to get my truck washed (one of the reasons I chose the valet option).

When we returned to Toronto five days later, I went to get my truck, only to be told that a) they didn't know where my keys were and b) the ferry was not in service, effectively standing my truck on the island and possibly us in Toronto.

I was offered the number for the Duty Manager of the airport, who informed me that they should have the issues fixed by 1900. Ok, an hour and a half delay. I could deal with that. They did offer an alternative to drive across to Wards Island and get ferried across with the City ferry, but said that could be close to a 90 minute proposition. We decided to wait. Mistake.

They finally came up with "a plan" around this time and managed to get the ferry over to the island with a fuel truck on it. They offloaded the fuel truck and everything seemed to be going well. We were then informed that they were going to wait until the fuel truck offloaded its fuel and returned to take it and it's back across. This could take "around" two hours.

At this point, I was getting rage-y and called the Duty Manager back and indicated I wasn't going to wait for "maybe" two hours and wanted to get off the island so I could go home to be able to get up for work.

They did end up making the arrangements with the City ferry to get us back across and home, but I had to insist to make this happen.

Pros: they covered the cost of the ferry and comped our parking. Cons: the alternative means of leaving the island was basically added as an afterthought, no notification was proactively made to notify us (they posted something on their website, which is only useful if you have reason to proactively check)

Overall, we will use the airport as our departure point, but will never again use the valet...

My experience with Air Canada at Billy Bishop Airport was one of the worst I have ever had.

Due to the ongoing Air Canada strike, my first flight from Toronto to Montreal was delayed three times, causing me to miss my connection to France and ultimately to Turkey, where I needed to attend my brother-in-law’s wedding. When I asked the Air Canada staff in Toronto what would happen, I was told not to worry — they claimed to have arranged a flight with Air Transat from France so that I could still make my final connection to Turkey. I repeatedly asked for confirmation, as I did not want to get stranded in Montreal. The staff insisted everything was fine and even said, “I trust myself and Air Transat staff.”

We trusted them — but when we arrived in Montreal, we were told that no booking existed for us. There wasn’t even a note in the system about our situation. We were left stranded, frustrated, and extremely upset. Eventually, after a long night, a manager in Montreal was able to find us a flight the next day to Algeria and then to Turkey — the only option left.

To make matters worse, the treatment at Billy Bishop was disrespectful from the start. An Air Canada staff member gave us a handwritten food voucher, which the airport café refused, telling us to “go get it typed.” When I went back to staff for help and again asked for confirmation of my flights, I was brushed off and told to “talk to Montreal airport.” They showed zero care or responsibility for passengers in the middle of a strike.

In the end, Air Canada provided no accommodation for the night, leaving us stranded in a city where we had no place to stay. As a Canadian citizen, I felt ashamed of how little care and professionalism was shown.

The Air Canada staff at Billy Bishop were some of the worst I have ever dealt with — careless, unhelpful, and dismissive. If you value reliability and respect, I strongly recommend avoiding Air Canada, especially during times...