v

AIRLINE AND
A I R P O RT S U P P O RT

CHAPTER

Airline and
Airport Support

9.1

AIRLINE

AND

AIRPORT SUPPORT
Chapter 9

9 . 1 I N T RO DUC T IO N
Airlines require facilities and
services at Toronto Pearson
International Airport to support
their day-to-day operations.
Facilities are also required by the
GTAA to manage, operate, and
maintain the Airport. This chapter
explores the types of facilities
currently used, industry trends
and future requirements for such
facilities.

9 . 2 EX I ST ING AIRL INE

S U P P O RT FAC IL IT IE S
Airline support facilities include
structures for maintenance of
aircraft and ground service equipment, flight kitchens, aircraft waste
disposal, staff training, and ancillary facilities. Facilities for aircraft
deicing and fuelling are discussed
in Chapters 5 and 11 respectively.
Airline support facilities at
Toronto Pearson occupy approximately 176,000 m2 of building
space with 53 per cent of that
space used for aircraft maintenance; 19 per cent for flight
kitchens, nine per cent for flight
training, eight per cent for ground
service equipment and the balance
(11 per cent) for aircraft waste disposal and ancillary facilities. These
facilities are dispersed throughout
the Airport.

Chapter 9 > A I R L I N E

AND

GTAA Three Bay Hangar

The extent of the facilities

required by an individual airline is
determined by the size and scope
of its operations at Toronto
Pearson. Support facilities may be
provided by airlines themselves or
by third parties who sell services
to airlines.

9.2.1 Aircraft Maintenance

Hangar Facilities
There are four general categories
of aircraft maintenance: line maintenance, heavy maintenance,
engine maintenance, and component maintenance. Collectively,
they are referred to as the
Maintenance, Repair, and
Overhaul (MRO) industry.
Line maintenance involves
day-to-day checks and
repairs associated with
normal airline operations
and aircraft remain in

A I R P O RT S U P P O RT

service during line maintenance.

This is the predominant type of
aircraft maintenance conducted at
Toronto Pearson. The level of line
maintenance at an airport is a
function of the overall level of
activity, the number of aircraft
that remain overnight, the number
of airlines with a major base at
that airport, and the type and age
of aircraft serving the airport.
Heavy maintenance involves major
airframe and system checks, overhauls, conversions, and other major

9.2

TABLE 9-1

AIRLINE SUPPORT FACILITIES SUMMARY

Type
Airline Maintenance

Organization
Air Canada
Air Canada Jazz
Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Georgian
WestJet
Skyservice
Air Transat

Facility Name
Bays 6, & 10-11
Bays 1-3
Bay 8
Bay 9
Hangar 2 Bay 3
Ineld Hangar South Bay
Hangar 6A
Hangar 4

Airport Area
7
7
7
7
8
10
8
8

Flight Kitchens

CLS
Cara
Cara

Flight Kitchen
Flight Kitchen 1
Flight Kitchen 2

2A
10
5

Flight Training

Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada
CAE

Flight Simulator Building

Inight Services Building
Annex Building
Flight Training Facility

5
2A
2A
13B

Building Area
(m2)
(ha)

94,029

Aircraft Waste

U-Pak

Ineld Waste Facility

8.6

21.3

15,243

3.4

8.5

10

GSE Maintenance

Servisair
Handlex
GTA Ground Equipment
ATS
Air Canada
Air Canada

GSE Maintenance Facility

Vista GSE Building
GSE Maintenance Facility
GSE Maintenance Facility
Equipment Maintenance Bldg
GSE Maintenance Facility

2A
5
8
5
10
2A

Ancillary Facilities

Air Canada (storage)

Air Canada (stores)
ACTS
ACTS
WestJet
Skyservice

Bays 4 & 5
Annex Building
Wheel & Brake Annex Bldg.
Paint Shop Bay 7
Commissary Air Supply
Hangar 6 Commissary

7
2A
2A
7
10
8
TOTALS

work carried out in specialized,

well-equipped hangar facilities
with extensive support shops.
This work may take several days
to several months to complete.

specific work on some types of aircraft. This work is performed by

company-operated or leased facilities, as described below and
reflected in Figure 9-1.

Currently, heavy maintenance at

Toronto Pearson is limited to

Air Canada (including Air Canada

Jazz and Air Canada Technical

AND

A I R P O RT S U P P O RT

86.4

33,379

780

Chapter 9 > A I R L I N E

35

Land Area
(acres)

.08

0.2

13,875

5.6

13.8

19,126
176,432

1.4
54.1

3.4
133.6

Services) operates maintenance

facilities in eight hangar bays. The
proposed redevelopment of their
hangar complex in Area 7 will provide them with modern hangars
more suitable in size for their current and future aircraft fleet.

9.3
The Centre Bay of the GTAAs
Three Bay Hangar, located in
Area 10, is currently used for shortterm arrangements, but is available
to accommodate long-term line
maintenance requirements.
Line maintenance will continue to
have a significant presence at
Toronto Pearson due to the high
volume of aircraft movements and
the number of aircraft remaining
overnight. These facilities are
approaching capacity with some at
100 per cent and others between
75 and 85 per cent usage.

Air Canada Hangar Complex

Air Canada Equipment Maintenance Building (forefront)

WestJet leases the South Bay of the

GTAAs Three Bay Hangar located
in Area 10 for line maintenance
activities, as well as parts storage
and administration. WestJet also
leases apron area adjacent to the
hangar for aircraft parking.

Skyservice FBO leases the North

Bay of the GTAAs Three Bay
Hangar in Area 10 to perform
maintenance work on airline and
corporate aircraft.

Air Transat leases Hangar 4 from

Millard Air, located in Area 8, for
operation as an aircraft maintenance facility.

Air Georgian leases Bay 3 of

Hangar 2 from Landmark
Aviation, located in Area 8, for
heavy and line maintenance activities, as well as for administration
and dispatch purposes.

Skyservice Airline operates two

hangars in Area 8. Hangar 6A is
used for aircraft line maintenance
for Skyservice, Sunwing, and
Zoom Airlines. Hangar 6 has been
converted for the warehousing of
aircraft parts.

Wright International does not

have a permanent physical presence
on the Airport. The company
offers aircraft maintenance services
using their technicians and the
clients hangar space or leased
hangar space as required.

The Centre Bay of the GTAA

Three Bay Hangar will be required
to meet the short- and mediumterm facility requirements for aircraft line maintenance. As well,
additional lands that will be available to the GTAA, once the acquisition of the Boeing Lands has
been completed, could be allocated
to future line maintenance facility
requirements and heavy maintenance activity at Toronto Pearson.

9.2.2 Ground Service Equipment

Maintenance Facilities
Ground Service Equipment (GSE)
includes aircraft tugs and tow
bars; baggage tractors, carts and

Aircraft with Airline Ground Service Equipment

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A I R P O RT S U P P O RT

9.4

belt loaders; cargo loaders; ground

and auxiliary power units; lavatory
trucks and carts; air conditioning
units; and other equipment
required to service aircraft.

Chapter 9 > A I R L I N E

AND

In addition to the overall level of

activity at the Airport, the demand
for GSE facilities is driven by the
age of the GSE fleet, facility
throughput, the availability of
fixed facilities (such as auxiliary

A I R P O RT S U P P O RT

power and conditioned air at terminal bridges), and the mix and
age of aircraft.
There are five companies offering
GSE maintenance services at

9.5
it is conceivable that expansions
may vary in size.

Cara Flight Kitchen 1

Toronto Pearson. GSE maintenance providers and their associated facilities are described below.
Air Canada has two buildings
where major GSE maintenance
activities are performed: one is
located in Area 10 and the other
in Area 2A. Servisair (formerly
Hudson General) operates a GSE
maintenance facility, located in
Area 2A. Handlex and Airport
Terminal Services (ATS) operate
GSE maintenance facilities within
the Vista Cargo complex, located
in Area 5, and GTA Ground
Equipment Specialties operates a
GSE maintenance facility in
Hangar 10, located in Area 8.
Currently, there are 13,875 m2 of
GSE shop space available at the
Airport. These facilities are
approaching capacity, ranging
from 50-99 per cent usage.
Projections of future requirements
are based on factoring existing
building sizes and capacities in
proportion to increasing aircraft
movement volumes. There are
alternate methods to increase GSE
maintenance capacity other than
providing more space, such as
scheduling a second shift of
workers to use the same existing
space and equipment. Should
market share distribution change,

Chapter 9 > A I R L I N E

AND

Lands are currently available in

Area 2A and additional lands
could be allocated for these uses
based on demand. In addition,
the lands that will be available to
the GTAA once the acquisition of
the Boeing lands has been completed, could be allocated, in
conjunction with other airline
support facilities, for GSE maintenance activities.

9.2.3 Flight Kitchen Facilities

Flight kitchens provide on-board
catering services to air carriers.
Catering services may range from
hot meals to snacks and beverages
to the provision of in-flight service
items, such as duty free.
In addition to the volume of passengers and aircraft operations,
the demand for flight kitchen
facilities is driven by airline catering policies, the length of flights,
and competition from carry-on
food service providers and potentially from off-airport food service
providers.

Flight Kitchen Meal Deliveries

A I R P O RT S U P P O RT

Flight kitchens do not require

taxiway access. It is preferable for
flight kitchen buildings to have
groundside access for material
deliveries and airside access for
meal deliveries to aircraft. This
eliminates the need for delivery
staff to pass through restricted area
checkpoints. While it is possible
for flight kitchens to operate with
groundside access only, or from an
off-airport location, this method
of operation is less desirable
given current airport security
requirements.
Two companies have dedicated
flight kitchen facilities at the
Airport. CLS Catering Services
operates a groundside facility in
Area 2A, and Cara operates two
flight kitchen/catering facilities at
Toronto Pearson referred to as
Flight Kitchens 1 and 2. Flight
Kitchen 1, built in 2001, is
located in Area 10 and has both
groundside and airside access.
Flight Kitchen 2, a groundside
facility located in Area 5, is
used primarily for preparing
kosher meals.

9.6
Agency regulations regarding
waste collection and processing.
The triturator facility (located in
Area 11) processes sewage prior to
its release into the municipal sanitary sewer systems. This facility
consists of a chemical storage
room and a vehicle bay where disposal vehicles unload waste. It is
owned and operated by the
Pearson International Fuel
Facilities Corporation (PIFFC), a
consortium of airlines operating at
Toronto Pearson.

CAE Aviation Training Facility

Air Canada Training Facility

In-flight catering requirements

have fallen drastically over the last
decade. In the highly competitive
airline environment, meal service
has been eliminated or reduced
on the majority of flights. There
are no identified additional facility
requirements for the short to
medium term. It is further
assumed that requirements for the
long term will be accommodated
within the land areas currently
allocated to flight kitchens, either
through additional changes to
the business model or increased
efficiencies within the existing
facilities.

All garbage from aircraft is collected airside by U-Pak Disposals

Limited and is taken to the waste
transfer station in Area 10, where
it is compacted and transported to
an off-site incinerator.
The quantities of waste processed
are a function of aircraft movements and passenger volumes.
Both are forecast to grow as
reported in Chapter 3.
The capacity of the waste transfer
station facility in Area 10 can be
increased by adding staff, carts,

9.2.4 Aircraft Waste Processing

Facilities
Facilities with airside access are
needed to process aircraft sewage
and garbage. The demand for
these facilities is driven almost
exclusively by passenger volume
and Canada Food Inspection

Chapter 9 > A I R L I N E

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Airport South Airport and Airline Support Facilities

A I R P O RT S U P P O RT

and vehicles to transport the waste

instead of increasing the size of
the waste transfer station itself.
The waste transfer station is not
expected to require expansion
until beyond 2030.
The new triturator facility was
constructed in 1999 as part of the
new PIFFC building. There is no
indication that expansion is
required until beyond 2030.

9.2.5 Flight-Crew, Cabin-Crew,

and Customer Service Training
Training facilities include fullmotion simulators to train pilots,
evacuation simulators used for
cabin staff, classrooms and other
facilities used to train airline customer service staff. Training facilities do not require taxiways or
airside access. They may be
situated on or off airport.
Air Canada operates a flight-crew
simulator training facility in
Area 5 and a cabin-crew simulator
training facility in Area 2A. CAE
operates a flight-crew simulator

9.7
capacity for an additional 10 aircraft flight simulators and associated classroom training space.
There are no identified additional
facility requirements beyond the
forthcoming expansion by Air
Canada and CAE for the short to
medium term. It is further
assumed that requirements for the
long term will be accommodated
within the land areas currently
allocated to flight training, including future expansions as required.
Fire and Emergency Services Training Institute

training facility in Area 13B. This

facility houses four full-motion
simulators and also includes
computer labs, classrooms, and
study areas.
Air Canada and CAE both operate
flight simulators. The demand for
these simulators is driven by new
aircraft types, as well as fleet and
pilot growth. Utilization ranges
between 85 and 100 per cent
capacity, with daily operations of
over 20 hours.
Given the forecast number of
pilots, there is a potential requirement for up to seven additional
simulator positions over the
medium to long term.
The in-flight cabin-crew training
simulator facility is already at
100 per cent usage with an overflow classroom in use and evacuation training being conducted in
the Annex Building in Area 2A.
This facility is already at 90 per
cent capacity, and it is estimated
that full capacity will be reached
in 2014, at which time expansion
would be required.

Chapter 9 > A I R L I N E

AND

Demand for in-flight cabin training

facilities is driven by the size of an
air carriers fleet as well as flight
frequency. Given anticipated fleet
growth and flight attendant hiring
among major national carriers, inflight training space will continue
to be used at capacity for the next
several years.
Air Canada and CAE are jointly
undertaking an expansion of the
existing CAE flight simulator facility in Area 13B; following completion of the expansion in early
2009, the facility will have the

9.2.6 Ancillary Facilities

Airlines and service providers supporting airlines require space for
commissaries and general warehousing, storage and workshops.
Storage, commissary, and certain
component maintenance facilities
do not require taxiway or airside
access. However, those activities in
support of aircraft line maintenance or daily operations should
be located nearby. Demand for
general storage is driven by aircraft
movement growth and fleet
diversity, while commissary stores

South Fire Hall (forefront)

Middle, left to right: Peel Regional Police/Transport Canada Building; Central Workshops and Stores; Airside and InterTerminal Bussing Facility.
Background: CLS Flight Kitchen; South ASDE Tower

A I R P O RT S U P P O RT

9.8

TABLE 9-2

AIRLINE SUPPORT FACILITIES REQUIREMENTS

Short Term
(2008-2012)

Medium Term
(2013-2017)

Long Term
(2018-2030)

24,400
9.5 (23.5)

11,000
3.6 (8.9)

16,500
12 (29.7)

GSE Maintenance:
GSE Building Area (m2)
Total Land Area ha (acres)

8,000
1.3 (3.3)

Aircraft Waste Processing:

Building Area
Land Area ha (acres)

Flight Kitchens:
Kitchen Building Area (m2)
Total Land Area ha (acres)

26,000
3.6 (9)

Flight Training:
Building Area (m2)
Total Land Area ha (acres)

9,400
1.1 (2.60)

Airline Support Activity

Aircraft Maintenance:
Hangar Building Area (m2)
Total Land Area ha (acres)

Ancillary Facilities:
Building Area (m2)
Total Land Area ha (acres)
Total Land Area ha (acres)

10.6 (26.1)

facilities are generally driven by

passenger activity.
Air Canada utilizes space in
Hangar Bays 4 and 5, located in
Area 7, and in its Annex Building
located in Area 2A for storage and
warehousing purposes. Air Canada
Technical Services (ACTS) operates a wheel and brake shop out of
the Annex Building. WestJet operates a commissary facility at the
Cargo 3 complex, located in
Area 10, to support their in-flight
service programs. Skyservice operates its commissary facility in the
converted Hangar 6, located in
Area 8.
Although facilities are sufficient
for the short term, it is anticipated
that demand for these services will

Chapter 9 > A I R L I N E

AND

3,300
0.5 (1.1)
4.1 (10.0)

3,500
0.5 (1.2)
17.4 (43.2)

increase with passenger growth.

Some facilities will have to be
expanded or become more efficient. Additionally, some activity
may need to be conducted at supplementary off-site facilities.

facilities include emergency

response and coordination, policing and security, airfield and airport maintenance, and various
administrative and staff support
accommodations. Existing and
planned airport support facilities
are illustrated in Figure 9-2.
Airport facility requirements will,
in most cases, be met within the
currently allocated land areas.
If additional lands are required,
an assessment will be made
of available property on an
individual basis.

9.3.1 Emergency Response

and Coordination
Fire Halls
The Emergency Response Services
(ERS) group is responsible for the
initial response to any emergency
on airport property with special
emphasis on aircraft crash and
rescue functions. Toronto
Pearsons ERS are accommodated
in two facilities, one located in
Airport North and the second in
Airport South.

9.2.7 Airline Support Facilities

Requirements
The airline support facilities
requirements are summarized in
Table 9-2.

9 . 3 A I R P O RT S U P P O RT
FAC IL ITIES
The provision of various facilities
to support airport activity is an
essential component of Toronto
Pearsons operations. These

A I R P O RT S U P P O RT

Canine Search Operations

9.9

The North Fire Hall, constructed

in 1998, is located in the south
end of Area 8. The two-storey
facility has four apparatus bays,
plus a fifth bay that is used as a
drive-through wash bay.
Constructed in Area 2A in 1999,
the South Fire Hall can accommo-

Chapter 9 > A I R L I N E

AND

date up to six ERS vehicles. In

addition, this facility also accommodates the ERS administrative
offices.

hall responds to structural fires

and emergency situations that
occur both on and off airport
property.

In addition to the ERS fire halls,

the City of Mississauga operates a
two-bay fire hall located on airport property in Area 6C. This fire

Fire Training Area

The Fire and Emergency Services
Training Institute began operation

A I R P O RT S U P P O RT

9.10

Aireld Maintenance Facility (forefront)

in March 2007. It is a state-of-theart training facility with classroom

and practical training areas. It was
built according to the Leading
Engineering and Environmental
Design Standard (LEEDS) to
ensure a minimal impact to the
environment, efficient construction techniques and materials, and
long-term cost effectiveness to
maintain.
The Institute contains four
20-student classrooms, a large
theatre/conferencing room capable
of holding 80 or split into two
40-person areas. It has practical
training areas for structural fire
fighting, hazardous materials, confined space, technical rescue and
search and rescue.
This facility will be used to train
GTAA fire fighters to maintain
their high level of preparedness for
fire and emergency service to the
Airport. Additionally, it will be
used to leverage GTAA expertise
and experience to train fire fighters
and other emergency responders
from within Canada and from
around the world thereby

contributing non-aeronautical
revenue to the GTAA.
Airport Emergency
Support Centre
The Airport Emergency Support
Centre (AESC) facility, located
south of the fire hall in Area 2A,
can serve as a base for emergency
operations and as a centre for
basic airport operations control. In
addition to emergency conference
rooms, specialized vehicles, trailers,
equipment, and supplies are
located in this building.
Canine Unit
The GTAA canine unit is located
in the same building as the AESC.
The unit is responsible for the
provision of an immediate canine
response to all unattended articles
and bomb threat incidents and for
the conduct of routine searches
and patrols.

policing services to Toronto

Pearson to meet federal regulatory
requirements. The PRP Airport
Division consists of both uniformed
and plainclothes officers and has
jurisdiction to investigate and
enforce criminal matters throughout the airport environment,
including on flights terminating at
Toronto Pearson. The Division is
headquartered at 2951 Convair
Drive. The third floor of the
building is used to accommodate
administrative offices for Transport
Canada.
Airport Security and Pass Control
GTAA Security is responsible for
ensuring Toronto Pearson meets
all federal regulatory requirements
pertaining to the security of an
aerodrome, as well as ensuring the
security of GTAA corporate assets.
Activities include maintaining the
security of restricted areas,
responding to security incidents,
developing security systems and
processes, and issuing access identification and permits. GTAA
Security is located in the GTAA
Administration Building at
3111 Convair Drive. The GTAA
Pass/Permit Control Office is
located at 3015 Convair Drive,
and will soon be relocated to a
facility within the redeveloped
Terminal 1 Parking Garage.

9.3.2 Airport Policing

and Security
Airport Policing
Peel Regional Police (PRP) is contracted by the GTAA to provide
Runway Winter Maintenance Equipment

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A I R P O RT S U P P O RT

9.11
maintenance-related tasks and
include satellite stores for
spare parts.

GTAA Administration Building, Air Canada Annex (middle) and Air Canada GSE Building (far right)

9.3.3 Airport Administration,

and Airfield/Airport
Maintenance
Airport Administration
In 1997, the GTAA moved its
administration offices from the
former administration building
located immediately north of
Terminal 1 to its present location
on Convair Drive. The current
building accommodates a staff of
450 and meets the immediate
needs of the GTAA.
Airfield and Airport Maintenance
The Airfield Maintenance Facility
(AMF) is located at 3045 Electra
Court, just south of Runway
06R-24L. The AMF was designed
to efficiently flow vehicles through
the facility, via the following
features:
10 drive-through equipment
storage bays
Five drive-through heavyequipment repair bays
Three small-vehicle repair bays
One drive-through wash bay

Chapter 9 > A I R L I N E

AND

In addition, this facility is used for

the indoor and outdoor storage of
maintenance vehicles/equipment
and has direct access to the airside
roadway system. The AMF is also
home to a welding shop, a paint
shop, and airside stores that manage the GTAAs multi-station fuel
system.
A storage facility located immediately west of the AMF houses
stores of runway sand, dry chemicals, and other materials required
for airport maintenance. This
facility is shared with airside stores
to allow storage of commonly
used items. Other storage facilities
exist around the airport site to
facilitate seasonal and year-round
maintenance.
Building Maintenance operates
out of three locations: Terminal 1,
Terminal 3, and the Central Workshops. There are workshops in the
terminal buildings, designed to
respond to predictive, preventative,
and demand-maintenance needs.
These workshops are equipped
with machinery for most

A I R P O RT S U P P O RT

Central Workshops and Stores

The Central Workshops and
Stores house supplies for field electrical maintenance, the sign shop,
painters, and carpenters, as well as
machinery for heavy maintenancerelated tasks and a fuel storage/
dispensing facility.

9.3.4 Other Airport Support

Services
Wildlife management services are
provided under contract by a professional wildlife control company,
operating from an airside facility
located adjacent to the North Fire
Hall. This facility provides offices
for wildlife control officers and
collocated aviaries for some
20 trained raptors (hawks, falcons,
and a bald eagle) and for any raptors trapped on the airfield. While
falconry is the primary method
used to prevent bird strikes on
aircraft, pyrotechnics, trapping,
distress calls, and hazing are some
of the other methods used in
support.
The GTAAs Airside and InterTerminal Bussing Facility on
Convair Drive is located west of
the Emergency Support Centre
with Environment Canadas
Meteorological Observation
Station located adjacent to the
Bussing Facility.