From a resident of Bathurst Quay, a residential neighbourhood adjacent to the Toronto Island Airport:

"I was woken up by this running of engine of a plane or jet plane in the middle of the night - September 28, 2009 at 03:16 AM. It ran for a while and I finally sat up and checked out the window and saw a plane at the terminal. What is this plane doing at this time of the night? "

Here is the reply from the Island Airport:

"We have received your comment and email concerning an engine run up during after hours at the Toronto City Centre Airport on September 28, 2009 at 0316 hours. Our Flight Tracking and Noise System tracked a Q400 aircraft in front of Hanger 6 conducting an Engine Run Up between 0337 hours to 0350 hours. We apologize for any inconvenience. We ask that engine run ups are conducted in our restricted area, during normal airport operating hours. We will be contacting the airline for further investigation."

We thank you for your comment, and it has been entered into our monthly reports. Noise Management Office Toronto City Centre Airport"

Engine runups are maintenance procedures where an aircraft engine is run at full throttle for 10-15 minutes. The noise is ear-splitting, and has been a major source of conflict between the adjacent residential communities, and Porter and the Toronto Port Authority, which operates the airport.

CommunityAIR has repeatedly asked Porter and the TPA to move their engine maintenance operations to Pearson, where residential areas are much further away. Both have refused.

Questions:

Why would Porter be so inconsiderate of its neighbours that it conducted an extremely loud engine maintenance procedure in the middle of the night? While runups in the past have occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning, most have occurred within the permitted hours of operation.

What action will the TPA take? Its board, comprised of a majority of Mike Harris-era Tories, appointed by the Harper government, has never demonstrated any willingness to constrain Porter’s impact on the adjacent communities. Will it start now?

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