Passengers will pay less to connect through Toronto Pearson effective January 1st.
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) has approved reductions to the connecting Airport Improvement Fee (AIF) from $8 to $4. The GTAA says this is believed to be the first-ever decrease to an AIF in Canada. The organization hopes the move will enable the airport to grow as a global hub.
Terminal charges and landing fees for passenger airlines will also be reduced, by 8.1% and 4.5% respectively, effective January 1, 2011. At the same time, the turnaround fee for bridges at Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 that was introduced in July will be increased to $66.66 per flight as part of a change to Toronto Pearson's fee structure as approved by the airline community. The overall goal of the passenger landing fee decrease and the increase of this second stage of the turnaround fee is that passenger airlines will see their costs at Toronto Pearson remain stable.
Both WestJet and Air Canada applauded the moves at Pearson, which was recently recognized by IATA as the world's most improved airport.
"The GTAA has one again demonstrated its continued desire to be among the leaders in Canadian airports in reshaping the way in which they recover costs from their airline partners," said Hugh Dunleavy, WestJet's Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Planning. "Today's announcement will go a long way to support the GTAA's goal of growing its position as a global hub.”
Ben Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada offered the following comment: "Air Canada commends the GTAA for its diligent efforts to continue lowering costs, which support our drive to capitalize on Pearson's advantageous geographic location and transform Toronto into a North American gateway.”
