Niagara District Airport looking for group to take over operations

The Niagara District Airport put up a tender today (September 1) at noon to have a person or investment group take over its daily operations.

The airport, located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, has four half-hour return flights a day during the weekdays to Billy Bishop Airport on Toronto Island. On Saturday and Sunday, there are two runs daily.

(Once in Toronto, there is a 850-metre walkway tunnel underneath the water between the island and Toronto at the foot of Bathurst Street.)

In the tender, it said the Niagara District Airport Commission (NDAC) and its municipal partner – Niagara Falls, St Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake – were “seeking a partner for the long-term operation and management of the (airport).”

It noted that through the partnership, “the NDAC seeks to improve the competitiveness and efficiency of the Airport and reduce direct municipal public sector investment in airport operations, while maintaining public safety, security, financial obligations, and offering the best possible service to the communities served by the NDAC.”

The long-term goal of the NDAC is to expand beyond the present flight routes being offered.

The NDAC said it was looking “to ensure the growth of the facility in supporting the regional economy, the partner would increase and facilitate infrastructure investments, demonstrate the willingness to grow route development in a targeted and strategic fashion, and shape the role of the Airport in connecting with community partners.

Finally, the NDAC said the new operators would be “required to either purchase or lease the assets of the Airport and current NDAC employee contracts, while ownership of the land would remain with the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.”

Bidding offers for the operation close on October 20 at midnight.