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Billy Bishop: where the car can and cannot go
The island airport has one rule that catches out first-time visitors and half the drivers in the city. Here is how a pickup at YTZ actually works.
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport sits on an island at the foot of Bathurst Street, and it is the most convenient arrival in the city if your destination is downtown — often fifteen minutes door to door where Pearson would be an hour. It also has one operational rule that surprises people.
Vehicles cannot cross to the island
The pedestrian tunnel under the Western Channel carries passengers, not cars. Your chauffeur meets you on the mainland side, at the Eireann Quay terminal building, after you have come up from the tunnel or off the ferry. Anyone who tells you they will meet you at the aircraft is describing something that does not exist for scheduled arrivals.
Why it is still the better airport for Bay Street
Because the whole journey is short. Porter and Air Canada run Billy Bishop to Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, New York and a growing list of others, and a meeting on King Street is a genuinely quick transfer from the terminal. For a same-day return trip it is very hard to beat.
Kerb space is tight
Eireann Quay is a narrow approach with active enforcement, and it backs up when several flights land together. We agree a precise meeting point when you book and the chauffeur texts on arrival rather than idling in the lane. In practice you walk out, you get a message, and the car is there within a minute or two.
When Pearson is the better call
Long-haul, most international routes, and anything with a lot of luggage. Billy Bishop is a small terminal by design. If you are connecting internationally you will be at Pearson instead.
Full detail on the airport and our meeting procedure is on the Billy Bishop transfer page.
