Opponents Say Airline Will Cause Excessive Noise

Despite protests, a new airline is set to make its inaugural flight out of Toronto's City Centre island airport later this year. Opponents are NOT happy about it... and say the carrier will cause excessive noise and shouldn't be allowed to fly.

Porter Airlines President Robert Deluce says the airline will launch its service with 10 round trips a day to Ottawa from the island.

The carrier -- which has ordered ten 70-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprops, with options for another 10 -– says it eventually plans to fly to 17 US and Canadian cities, including Boston, Chicago, Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Detroit and Montreal.

Deluce announced at a recent news conference his planes will start flying relatively early in the morning... until about nine or ten o'clock at night.

That news upset protester Helen Kennedy, who told Reuters she believes increased air traffic is potentially dangerous and will cause more pollution and noise.

Deluce dismissed Kennedy’s claims, by saying he believes that the Toronto city center airport can coexist in an urban environment and bring economic benefits to the area.

The airport's only scheduled carrier at the moment is Air Canada's low-cost Jazz subsidiary, which flies a handful of turboprop flights a day.

In the meantime, the airport faces its own problems. The airport, which is run by the Toronto Port Authority, is under investigation by the federal government over allegations it owes millions of dollars in property taxes.

"We're very encouraged by the fact that none of what is being looked at directly affects Porter. We are moving forward with our start-up," said Deluce.

FMI: www.flyporter.com/en/about.html