Oshawa Airport

Oshawa Airport

Oshawa Municipal Airport, (IATA: YOO, ICAO: CYOO), is a municipal airport adjacent to the north end of the city of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Oshawa Airport is one of the major general aviation airports in the Greater Toronto Area It includes two paved runways and instrument approaches. From 2002 to 2008, Oshawa hosted the annual Canadian Aviation Expo, Canada's largest annual aviation event, before the expo moved to Hamilton, Ontario in 2009.

The airport is classified as an airport of entry by NAV CANADA and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency. CBSA officers at this airport currently can handle aircraft with no more than 50 passengers.

The airport originally opened in June 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as No. 20 Elementary Flying Training School RCAF Station Oshawa. Student flyers used Tiger Moth aircraft and were trained by civilian instructors from the Oshawa, Kingston, and Brant-Norfolk flying clubs. A relief landing field was located at Whitby. The school closed in December 1944.

The planned construction of a Pickering Airport, between Oshawa and Toronto, raised questions about the future of the Oshawa airport. However, there remains strong opposition to the construction of the Pickering Airport, as this project has been a false-start since the conception of the idea in 1972. Additionally, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) lacks the authority to decommission Oshawa Airport because it is outside their jurisdiction.

In 2008 the City of Oshawa adopted the Oshawa Municipal Airport Business Plan which includes a commitment to operate the airport for a minimum of 25 years. Dozens of upgrades completed by 2010 include construction of new Taxiway "C", Phase 1 of Hangarminium Complex, cardlock fuel facility, and Automated Weather Observation System.

On July 11, 2011 ornge Air Medivac announced that it will open a 24 hour base to help cut the airlift response time to Toronto hospitals. Currently (2011/2012), local politicians and the contracted airport management are endeavoring to expand the main runway from 4000 ft to 5000 ft to acquire additional and larger corporate traffic. This is being met with much opposition, as the existing surrounding community is already in close proximity of the runway and the flight paths. The surrounding community avers that increasing activity at an airport closely nested among residential communities is irresponsible. The surrounding community is also concerned that they are not being represented appropriately by the local standing committees. The proposal to expand was delayed at a December 5, 2011 public meeting as there was not enough room in the Oshawa Council Chambers to accommodate all of the public that showed up in opposition. A new meeting date was to be set sometime in January 2012. After the meeting and great opposition from the general public, it was officially decided in August 2012 that the expansion project would be cancelled. There has been no revival of the expansion plan since.

Commercial radio stations CKDO and CKGE-FM, licensed to Oshawa, and CJKX, licensed to Ajax, operate from studios on the Oshawa Airport grounds. These organizations operate on former airport land at the entrances to the airport on Taunton Road: Mandarin Chinese Buffet restaurant; Taunton Health Centre, part of the largest, multi-specialty medical group practice in Canada, including Urgent Care, Laboratory, Pharmacy and a dental office; Airport Self Storage Ltd., with ten buildings on six acres; National Defence, The Ontario Regiment, Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, Oshawa Airport Armoury; and the Durham Children's Aid Society.

A live fire training simulator opened south of the control tower in October 2009. It is a partnership between Durham College and the fire departments of Clarington, Oshawa and Whitby.