Hamilton airport expansion to benefit cargo

Hamilton International Airport, located in Mount Hope, Ontario, about 50 minutes southwest of the GTA, has unveiled plans for a $250 million expansion of its terminal facilities.

Once completed, the airport will be able to handle in excess of five million passengers yearly, a tenfold increase. But the expansion will also especially benefit the airport’s courier and cargo business.

“Our expansion is not just about passenger service. HIA is Canada’s largest courier/cargo airport. New taxi-ways, aprons, and cargo land development will improve efficiency of our cargo handling, enabling HIA to take advantage of its strategic location within world trade corridors,” said Tony Battaglia, the airport’s president and CEO.

Bob Wade, Mayor of Hamilton, the Hon. Brad Clark, Ontario’s Minister of Transportation, and federal Heritage Minister, Sheila Copps, were expected to be on hand to comment upon the scope of the project and its impact upon Hamilton and southwestern Ontario.

Passenger traffic at HIA has grown by over 2000% in two years- HIA is Ontario’s third busiest passenger airport, with much of the growth at HIA is directly related to the expansion of WestJet Airlines into eastern markets, to Sunquest Tours. In 2000, WestJet chose HIA as the hub of its eastern Canadian operations.