Halifax Stanfield International Airport

History

An airfield in West End, Halifax on the Halifax Peninsula known as Chebucto Field was built as the Halifax Civic Airport by the City of Halifax in 1931 and operated as the city's main airport until 1942, when it closed and was converted to an army base. Today Saunders Park, named after the first Halifax airport manager, marks the site. RCAF Station Shearwater functioned as Halifax's primary airport until June 1960, when the current airport was opened. The Kelly Lake site was chosen in 1954 after an elaborate search for suitable location. The land was purchased by the City of Halifax while the federal Department of Transport constructed the airport. A key factor was to find a site near Halifax with a minimal number of days per year when fog would affect airport operation. There is a continuing myth that the tree cutting that was required to construct the airport altered the fog patterns, however a weather analysis of the 1960–2008 period would show that this is, indeed, an "urban" myth. The origin of the myth may come from commuters, who may experience very localized fog near the airport during their morning drive along Highway 102.

Operation Yellow Ribbon

Following the September 11 attacks the airport took part in Operation Yellow Ribbon, commenced to accept United States civilian flights after the Federal Aviation Administration closed down U.S. airspace. Halifax airport took 40 flights—more flights than any other Canadian airport involved in the operation—carrying about 7,300 passengers—more passengers than any other Canadian airport involved in the operation other than Vancouver, which registered 8,500. Much of this was because flights that were coming from Europe were told to avoid the major airports in Central Canada, like Toronto Pearson, Montréal-Dorval, and Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport.

To honour the people of Gander and Halifax for their support during the operation, Lufthansa named a new Airbus A340-300 "Gander-Halifax" on May 16, 2002. That airplane is listed with the registration D-AIFC, and is the first aircraft of the whole fleet with a city name outside of Germany.

Renaming

On September 9, 2005, the main passenger terminal was renamed in honour of Robert Stanfield, the former Premier of Nova Scotia and federal Leader of the Official Opposition, with a plaque placed on the public observation floor. On Friday February 9, 2007 Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived at the airport and announced the renaming of the entire facility from 'Halifax International Airport' to 'Halifax Robert L. Stanfield International Airport' in a further honour to Mr. Stanfield; at that time the terminal name was dropped and reverted to its original status.

Awards

Halifax Airport fared well in the 2005 AETRA survey for passenger satisfaction, produced by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airports Council International. The airport was ranked the best airport in the Americas for the second year in a row, as well as the best airport in the less than 5 million passengers a year category for the third year in a row (worldwide), and best domestic service for the second year in a row.

In March 2007, Halifax Airport earned two first-place finishes in the 2006 Airports Council International (ACI) Service Quality Awards held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. For the fourth consecutive year, it ranked first in overall passenger satisfaction for airports worldwide with under five million passengers. In addition, the airport ranked first in the Americas in the new category of Airport People Awards, and second in the best domestic airport worldwide category.

In early 2010, Halifax Stanfield was rated by passengers as the Best Airport in the World in its class (under 5 million) for the seventh year in a row.

In 2011 it won third Best Airport in North America of the Airport Service Quality Awards by Airports Council International, as well as 3rd Best Airport by Size in the 2 to 5 million passenger category.

Terminal and renovations

The passenger terminal building was opened in September 1960. It serves over 3.5 million passengers per year. The growth experienced in the decades since the airport's construction has necessitated constant renovations, and there is often construction occurring there.

Since 1998, the airport has been undergoing an extensive renovation program. The latest phase was announced in September 2004. The major multi-year expansion project includes a rehabilitation of the runways and taxiways, new terminal expansions, new parking lots (including an enclosed garage), a new hotel, and internal beautifications including an observation tower. The project was expected to cost over $250 million.

In December 2004, U.S. Customs and Border Protection approved Halifax Airport for United States border preclearance. It took effect in late 2006. HIAA used to be the busiest airport in Canada without U.S. Customs preclearance.

On September 12, 2007 the airport authority announced the construction of a 2,300 space, five-storey parking garage, which was completed on March 12, 2009. The airport authority also announced an on-site 175-room Sheraton hotel, which was postponed due to financial considerations. On October 26, 2011 the airport authority announced the construction of an on-site 14-storey, 169-room, ALT Hotel connected to the terminal building. Built by Groupe Germain Hospitality, it opened in spring 2013.

The current terminal contains a total of 31 gate positions, with 12 using airbridges (gates 12, 14–16, 18, 20, 22–24, and 26–28). The remaining gates are ground loading positions. Gates 22–24, and 26–28 are swing gates which can service domestic flights and then be converted to receive incoming international flights via a glassed-in secure corridor from the holdroom for international flight operations. Gates 2 (a-e) to 9 are ground loading positions dedicated to domestic regional operations (mainly Air Canada Express). Gates 34 to 46 are ground loading gate positions for US flights operating regional jets. An August 2010 press release indicated that part of the airport's 10 year capital improvement program would see the expansion of the Domestic/International Check-in area and expansion of the Terminal Building at the north end in anticipation of additional flights from EU nations.

In 2010, extension of the taxiway system resulted in an increased airside area, creating space for several newly constructed large hangars. Canadian Helicopters, Cougar Helicopters, Gateway Facilities, and IMP Group operate these new hangars along taxiways juliet and kilo.

In November 2012, an extension of both ends of runway 05/23 was completed, for an overall increase in length from 8,800 ft (2,682 m) to 10,500 ft (3,200 m). This increase resulted in the renaming of several associated taxiways.

FBOs

The airport is served by several fixed-base operators (FBOs), which handle fueling, ground handling, hangarage, catering, etc. They include Atlantic Sky Service/Esso Avitat, Shell AeroCentre, and Gateway Facilities.

Aerotech Business Park

The airport is located adjacent to the Aerotech Business Park, a municipally run business park originally catering towards aviation companies. The zoning has since been changed to allow for other types of companies to locate there. The largest tenant is Pratt & Whitney Canada.

Alternate space shuttle landing site

Halifax Airport was one of the handful of sites in eastern North America where the Space Shuttle could have landed if something went wrong during liftoff.

Emergency services

Halifax Regional Police provides policing at the airport and an onsite fire services provides airport fire services with six airport tenders/pumpers.

Charter

The following companies operate from private hangars or FBOs at the airport:

Public transportation

MetroX route 320 is an express bus service that travels between the city centre and the airport, with two intermediate stops at the Dartmouth Bridge Terminal and the suburb of Fall River. The route is run by Halifax Transit (formerly Metro Transit). The route operates at a 30-minute frequency in the daytime and hourly in the evening. The 320 bus originates on Albemarle Street in Downtown Halifax and terminates curbside, adjacent to the entrance of the arrivals level of the terminal. It is the most affordable transport option to the airport, with an adult fare of $3.50 (concessionary fare available to seniors and children) and free onward transfer to connecting buses.

Hotels

There are four hotels in the immediate vicinity of the airport. The 169-room ALT Hotel, connected to the passenger terminal building, is the only one within the airport proper. The 156-room Quality Inn is located on the opposite side of Highway 102. The Holiday Inn Express (119 rooms) and the Hilton Garden Inn (145 rooms) are both located in nearby Aerotech Business Park.

Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum

The nearby Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum includes both military and civil aviation exhibits.

Incidents and accidents