Toronto Pearson International Airport

[Tim MacDonald]

Looking at this today,
https://www.flightradar24.com/airport/yyz
everything seems to be using the two runways along the south part of the airport.

I was watching this YouTube channel on the weekend and last Wednesday when it was showing one of the runways live from the parking lot of the Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel, and could see what planes were on their way in on the flightradar24 site. I suppose there's some stationary webcams aimed at runways (Prague, Kansai) where you could do this anytime.

Taxiway Hotel was being rebuilt which would have necessitated a closure of runway 05/23. Not sure if that was finished on time but if it wasn't It may have forced the continuation of 24L/24R Dep/Arvl pattern. I did see China Eastern go from 24R the other day (Saturday, I think) which is an unusual choice. Yesterday I did notice a significant increase in departure traffic while sitting in my back yard compared to recent weeks. They normally start their turn after reaching 5,000 ft over my house.

 

[Jasmine18]

Is it just me or does the Canadian airspace look completely dead compared to other countries?

Are we just need flying much in side Canada it seems at all

 

[BubbleTea]

Is it just me or does the Canadian airspace look completely dead compared to other countries?

Are we just need flying much in side Canada it seems at all

I wouldn't say dead, although a quick glance at FR24 does show it to be a lot more empty than normal.

However, it is important to remember Canada's airspace normally consists a lot of U.S-Europe/Middle East flights, so as restrictions in those parts are lifted and people travel again, it will start packing up.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

Heathrow is such a poor comparison for Pearson it's not even funny.

1. The Greater London Area has no fewer than 4 international airports of significance. Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, and Luton. A city centre airport London City. And a minor airport Southend. An analogue in the GTA would be Pearson, Hamilton, a currently un built Pickering, and the Island airport. And that still leaves another international airport and a minor airport

2. Together those 6 airports comprise 8 runways for the Greater London region. Hamilton, Pearson, and the Island comprise 9 runways. 2 of which are alternate runways in Pearson's 15/33 runways and 2 of which are secondary runways mainly used for light aircrafts (1 each at Hamilton and the Island). So best case scenario is that the GTA operates with a maximum of 5 runways at any one time. Less that 50% of the runway capacity in London

3. There has been a loonng discussion in England on adding another runway somewhere in Greater London. Each of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted have put their plans in for adding another runway, and there has been the grand plan for the airport on the Thames river. So it's hardly genuine to suggest that London is getting by just fine with it's current situation. Pearson on the other had has said that it is not the runway system which is the limiting factor but the terminals and gate capacity.

You may as well say that the GTAA should look at Atlanta or O'hare airports as models with 4+ parallel runways.

 

[SubHuman]

Taxiway Hotel was being rebuilt which would have necessitated a closure of runway 05/23...

Looking at the flight radar site occasionally over the last few weeks, it's been runway 06L/24R that is getting used most of the time, with the others being used very little, and 15L/33R not being used at all. I went past it a few days ago along Derry Road on the Brampton Transit Rt 115 bus and could see large X-shaped lights blocking it off. It's apparently been closed since late May and will stay like that for another month. 05/23 was being used for arrivals yesterday after not being used recently for much except FedEx planes departing.
https://tpprodcdnep.azureedge.net/-...rport-bulletins/advisories/G02-2020-A-034.pdf
https://tpprodcdnep.azureedge.net/-...rport-bulletins/advisories/g02-2020-a-035.pdf
(And btw, that Brampton bus I was on just after at 4 pm had almost all the seats full and some people standing -- not much 'distancing' going on.)

Edit (29 Oct 2020) : It looks like Runway 15L/33R has finally been re-opened, after apparently being closed since late May.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

Looking at the flight radar site occasionally over the last few weeks, it's been runway 06L/24R that is getting used most of the time, with the others being used very little, and 15L/33R not being used at all. I went past it a few days ago along Derry Road on the Brampton Transit Rt 115 bus and could see large X-shaped lights blocking it off. It's apparently been closed since late May and will stay like that for another month. 05/23 was being used for arrivals yesterday after not being used recently for much except FedEx planes departing.
https://tpprodcdnep.azureedge.net/-...rport-bulletins/advisories/G02-2020-A-034.pdf
https://tpprodcdnep.azureedge.net/-...rport-bulletins/advisories/g02-2020-a-035.pdf
(And btw, that Brampton bus I was on just after at 4 pm had almost all the seats full and some people standing -- not much 'distancing' going on.)

That sounds about right. Taxiway hotel was a former runway iirc which explains it being an odd duck in the mostly N-S-E-W taxiway network. It crosses both runway 15R/33L and 05/23 which is why those runways needed to be closed.

 

[WillTo]

"FINAL TRANSIT NEWSLETTER – AUGUST 2020
We remain committed to improving transit, but our priorities are shifting as the airport is focused on recovering from the impacts of COVID-19.
Transit connectivity to Pearson Airport and the surrounding employment lands is important to us. However, the impacts of COVID-19 on the travel industry have been significant and Pearson is no exception. We anticipate our business will take several years to recover to 2019 levels.

We’re taking this as an opportunity to refocus our planning for the Regional Transit Centre (often called Union Station West) in the context of the new realities of air travel and the ground connectivity needs of the airport and the surrounding area.

Still thinking about how Union Station West could transform the way you get around? Us too.
Pearson is continuing our partnership with Metrolinx to explore ways to improve rapid transit access to Canada’s largest airport. This includes completing planning studies already underway like the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension to Pearson, a potential rail connection of the Kitchener GO Corridor to Pearson and a network study for the airport area.

And we’re always working to help all levels of Government understand the value of potential investments in transit infrastructure for the Pearson area.

Stay connected with us about transit progress
As we transition to a more behind-the-scenes role for our transit program, we’re discontinuing this newsletter.

But that doesn’t mean we won’t tell you about progress updates! Visit the transit web pages to stay up to date on progress and milestones. And we’ll continue to post transit related content on our social media platforms."

 

[kali]

"A potential rail connection of the Kitchener GO Corridor to Pearson" - do they mean rerouting Kitchener GO or a people mover from Malton to the terminals?

 

[Northern Light]

"A potential rail connection of the Kitchener GO Corridor to Pearson" - do they mean rerouting Kitchener GO or a people mover from Malton to the terminals?

They're nowhere near detailed design of any idea.

That said, they were clearly contemplating a through-route of the K-W rail corridor (presumably the existing corridor remains, but a passenger-rail only diversion through Pearson would be added).

But none of that is happening in the near-term.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

They're nowhere near detailed design of any idea.

That said, they were clearly contemplating a through-route of the K-W rail corridor (presumably the existing corridor remains, but a passenger-rail only diversion through Pearson would be added).

But none of that is happening in the near-term.

I'd like them to at least begin some formal design studies (or at least make public what they have planned) so that the project will be shovel ready when the time comes. If the experience of 9/11 and (to a lesser extent) the 2008 recession, traffic levels will come back and come back strong. If global travel is expected to recover around 2024 the rebound may put pressure on Pearson airport by 2030.

 

[TRONto]

I'd like them to at least begin some formal design studies (or at least make public what they have planned) so that the project will be shovel ready when the time comes. If the experience of 9/11 and (to a lesser extent) the 2008 recession, traffic levels will come back and come back strong. If global travel is expected to recover around 2024 the rebound may put pressure on Pearson airport by 2030.

Exactly this. Things will get back to normal.

 

[gweed123]

I'd like them to at least begin some formal design studies (or at least make public what they have planned) so that the project will be shovel ready when the time comes. If the experience of 9/11 and (to a lesser extent) the 2008 recession, traffic levels will come back and come back strong. If global travel is expected to recover around 2024 the rebound may put pressure on Pearson airport by 2030.

Exactly. Just because this lull in demand reduced the immediate need for the Transit Hub doesn't mean the timeline for the Hub shouldn't change. It's planning/design/construction timeline is long enough that demand will be back to 2019 levels, if not exceeding them, by the time that Hub would be operational. Delaying it now would only add a few more years of high demand operations without it.

 

[SubHuman]

...Wendy's is the best place to watch planes come in ...

I went to Danville Park for the first time yesterday. It is miles away from the airport, but if you take your own binoculars you can see it way off in the distance on a clear day.

It's a little awkward getting to the top of the hill, particularly if you're going as a pedestrian and public transit user, since there is no access from the nearest road, Courtneypark Drive, and you have to get there from Kennedy Road by walking through the industrial area of Otto Road and Danville Road to get to the park entrance before walking up the winding trail to the observation area.

 

[JasonParis]

I dragged my mother there! It's actually a pretty great "secret" park.

 

[SubHuman]

A park that was actually close enough to see the planes on one of the main runways, like Jacques-de-Lesseps Park in Montreal,

Spotting Guide: Jacques-de-Lesseps Park at Montreal Airport

Jacques-de-Lesseps Park is the official plane spotting location at Montreal airport. Read this article to learn more about photographing aircraft there.

www.knaviation.net

might have made more sense than one miles away that people ignore and instead go to spots like Renforth Drive, Dixie Road, or Airport Road to stand on sidewalks or in parking lots.
Or, instead of an entire park, why not just some of those small viewing mounds or platforms in acceptable locations that could be used by the plane spotters for views unimpeded by fences and passing trucks? Maybe sponsors could pay to build and put their names on them -- the CIBC, Wendy's, Tim Horton's, FedEx, or Air Canada viewing mound or platform.

It appears Emirates has returned to using Airbus A380 planes on their Toronto flights instead of the Boeing 777.
It looks like the only other passenger quad-jets left flying into Pearson are the A340s used by Lufthansa, though sometimes they're using the twin-jet A330 (Edit: A month later, and it looks like it's now an A330 most or all of the time).
There are still cargo versions of the Boeing 747, and the FedEx MD10 or MD11 tri-jets at Pearson on most days.

Edit: Apparently it is possible to record video from Danville Park of planes landing and taking off at Pearson on a clear day, if you have a very expensive zoom camera.