DRAFT TECHNICAL BACKGROUNDER Northern Ontario Multimodal Transportation Strategy Municipal Airports Prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Northern Development and Mines Consulting Team: IBI Group | Hemson Consulting Ltd. November 2016 IBI GROUP DRAFT TECHNICAL BACKGROUNDER: MUNICIPAL AIRPORTS Prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Northern Development and Mines This technical backgrounder was prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Northern Development and Mines by the consultant team to assist the ministries in developing the Northern Ontario Multimodal Transportation Strategy. The opinions and ideas in this backgrounder are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the ministries or of the Government of Ontario. Cette publication hautement spécialisée Municipal Airports Technical Backgrounder n'est disponible qu'en anglais conformément au Règlement 671/92, selon lequel il n’est pas obligatoire de la traduire en vertu de la Loi sur les services en français. Pour obtenir des renseignements en français, veuillez communiquer avec le Ministère des Transports au 1-844-505-5006 ou par courriel à [email protected]. November 2016 IBI GROUP DRAFT TECHNICAL BACKGROUNDER: MUNICIPAL AIRPORTS Prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Northern Development and Mines Table of Contents 1. Overview .................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Categorization of Municipal Airports ................................................. 4 2. Northern Ontario Airport and Air Carrier Policy and Funding .............. 5 2.1 Federal Government Role ................................................................ 5 Regulation ............................................................................................ 5 Air Navigation Services ......................................................................... 5 Programs .............................................................................................. 6 2.2 Provincial Role .................................................................................. 9 2.3 Other Funding Sources ................................................................... 10 3. Thunder Bay International Airport ......................................................... 11 3.1 Governance .................................................................................... 11 3.2 Services .......................................................................................... 11 4. Northern Ontario Air Services ................................................................ 12 4.1 Passenger Services ........................................................................ 12 4.2 Cargo Services ............................................................................... 16 4.3 Government Air Services ................................................................ 17 Air Ambulance Services ...................................................................... 24 5. Municipal Airport Facilities .................................................................... 31 5.1 Runways ......................................................................................... 31 5.2 Airport Weather and Navigation Systems ....................................... 33 5.3 Condition of Airport Facilities .......................................................... 35 6. Passenger Travel Connectivity with Ground Transportation Modes .. 38 7. Alternative Approaches to Airport Policies and Programs ................. 40 7.1 Airport Policy of Other Provincial Governments .............................. 40 Airport Funding Example: Saskatchewan Airport Partnership Grant Program .............................................................................................. 41 November 2016 i IBI GROUP DRAFT TECHNICAL BACKGROUNDER: MUNICIPAL AIRPORTS Prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Northern Development and Mines Table of Contents (continued) 7.2 Comparable Ontario Funding Programs ......................................... 41 7.3 Helipad Policy and Funding ............................................................ 42 8. Outlook for Municipal Airports .............................................................. 43 9. Issues and Opportunities ....................................................................... 45 9.1 Summary of Issues ......................................................................... 45 Important Benefits of Municipal Airports ............................................. 45 Condition of Municipal Airports Infrastructure ..................................... 45 Financial Viability ................................................................................ 46 Funding Sources ................................................................................. 46 9.2 Opportunities .................................................................................. 46 A More Cohesive and Reliable Funding Program ............................... 46 Resources ........................................................................................................ 48 Alternate Text for Exhibits .............................................................................. 49 Appendix A: Municipal Airport Survey Results ............................................. 1 Appendix B: Municipal Airport Survey Questionnaire .................................. 3 November 2016 ii IBI GROUP DRAFT TECHNICAL BACKGROUNDER: MUNICIPAL AIRPORTS Prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Northern Development and Mines Table of Contents (continued) List of Exhibits Exhibit 1.1: Northern Ontario Multimodal Transportation System .............. 2 Exhibit 1.2: Northern Ontario’s Airports with Municipal Airports by Name . 3 Exhibit 2.1: Municipal Airports Eligible for Funding from the Airport Capital Assistance Program (ACAP) ........................................................ 8 Exhibit 4.1: Northern Ontario Scheduled Air Passenger Services ........... 13 Exhibit 4.2: “Strategic” Roles of Northern Ontario Municipal Airports in Providing Scheduled Passenger Connections ........................... 14 Exhibit 4.3: Passenger Volumes for Large Regional and International Airports ...................................................................................... 15 Exhibit 4.4: Daily Frequency of Southern Ontario Scheduled Air Passenger Connections ............................................................. 15 Exhibit 4.5: Municipal Airports Reporting Cargo Handling (2015 Municipal Airports Survey Results) ............................................................ 18 Exhibit 4.6: Municipal Airports with Resource Management Operations (2015 Municipal Airports Survey Results) .................................. 19 Exhibit 4.7: Municipal Airports with Aerial Firefighting Operations (2015 Municipal Airports Survey Results) ............................................ 20 Exhibit 4.8: Municipal Airports with Aerial Policing Operations (2015 Municipal Airports Survey Results) ............................................ 21 Exhibit 4.9: Municipal Airports with Search-and-Rescue Operations (2015 Municipal Airports Survey Results) ............................................ 22 Exhibit 4.10: Government Air Services by Airport ..................................... 23 Exhibit 4.11: Fixed-Wing Air Ambulance Patient Transfers, 2014 (Largely Emergent and Urgent Patients) .................................................. 25 Exhibit 4.12: Ornge-Contracted Fixed-Wing Air Ambulance Patient Transfers, 2014 .......................................................................... 26 Exhibit 4.13: Rotary-Wing (Helicopter) Patient Transfers, 2014 .............. 27 Exhibit 4.14: Northern Ontario Helipads .................................................. 28 Exhibit 4.15: Northwest Region Helipads ................................................ 29 Exhibit 4.16: Northeast Region Helipads ................................................. 30 November 2016 iii IBI GROUP DRAFT TECHNICAL BACKGROUNDER: MUNICIPAL AIRPORTS Prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Northern Development and Mines Table of Contents (continued) Exhibit 5.1: Municipal Airport Runway Length and Surface Type ............ 32 Exhibit 5.2: Weather and Navigation Systems at Municipal and International Airports .................................................................. 34 Exhibit 5.3: Reported Condition of Airport Infrastructure at Large Regional Airports ...................................................................................... 36 Exhibit 5.4: Reported Condition of Airport Infrastructure at Intermediate Regional Airports ....................................................................... 36 Exhibit 5.5: Reported Condition of Airport Infrastructure at Other Municipal Airports ...................................................................................... 37 Exhibit 6.1: Connecting Surface Transportation for Airports with Scheduled Passenger Services ................................................. 39 Exhibit 8.1: Self-Reported Community Benefits of a Municipal Airport .... 43 November 2016 iv IBI GROUP DRAFT TECHNICAL BACKGROUNDER: MUNICIPAL AIRPORTS Prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Northern Development and Mines 1. Overview Northern Ontario has