Halifax Stanfield International Airport is a Canadian airport in

Goffs, Nova Scotia Goff's is a Canadian rural community in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. Located in the north-central part of Halifax County, Goff's is situated on the Old Guysborough Road ( Route 212) immediately east of the Halifax Stanfield Int ...

, a rural community of the Halifax Regional Municipality. It serves the Halifax region, mainland

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, and adjacent areas in the neighbouring

Maritime provinces The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

. The airport is named in honour of

Robert Stanfield Robert Lorne Stanfield (April 11, 1914 – December 16, 2003) was a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967 and the leader of the Official Opposition and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative ...

, the 17th

Premier of Nova Scotia The premier of Nova Scotia is the first minister to the lieutenant governor of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and presides over the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. Following the Westminster system, the premier is normally the leader of ...

and leader of the federal

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

. The airport, owned by

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportati ...

since it opened in 1960, has been operated since 2000 by the

Halifax International Airport Authority The Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA) is a Canadian airport authority charged with operating Halifax Stanfield International Airport on behalf of Transport Canada. The HIAA was established in November 1995 in advance of changes to ...

(HIAA). It forms part of the

National Airports System Canada's National Airport System (NAS) was defined in the National Airports Policy published in 1994. It was intended to include all airports with an annual traffic of 200,000 passengers or more, as well as airports serving the national, provincia ...

. Designated as an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

, Halifax Stanfield is the 8th busiest airport in Canada by passenger traffic. It handled a total of 4,316,079 passengers in 2018 and 84,045 aircraft movements in 2017. It is a hub for

Air Canada Express Air Canada Express is a brand name of regional feeder flights for Air Canada that are subcontracted to other airlines. As of March 2021, Jazz Aviation is the sole operator of Air Canada Express. They primarily connect smaller cities with Air Cana ...

Cougar Helicopters Cougar Helicopters (a VIH Aviation Group Company) is a St. John's based commercial helicopter company servicing offshore oil and gas fields off the coast of Newfoundland. Cougar has permanent facilities in St. John's and Halifax. The company ...

Maritime Air Charter Maritime Air Charter Limited is an on-demand aircraft charter company based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Enfield and Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada. It operates passenger and cargo services. History Maritime Air Charter ...

PAL Airlines PAL Airlines (formerly Provincial Airlines) is a Canadian regional airline with headquarters at St. John's International Airport in St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.West End, known as Chebucto Field, was built as the Halifax Civic Airport by the City of Halifax in 1931 on the former site of Blueball Farm. It served as the city's main airport until 1942, when it was closed and converted to an army base. Today

Saunders Park Saunders Park may refer to: *Saunders Park (Nova Scotia) Saunders Park is an urban park in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in West End, Halifax on Chebucto Road at the site of the now defunct Halifax Civic Airport (on west side of Con ...

, named after the first Halifax airport manager and Aero Club manager Donald Saunders, and some parts of the residential area of

Westmount Subdivision Westmount Subdivision is a neighbourhood in Halifax Regional Municipality. History In 1931 the Halifax Municipal Airport was built on the site of the future neighbourhood. Pan American Airways operated at the airport, running a route between Hal ...

, mark the site. Dartmouth Airport and later as

RCAF Station Shearwater Canadian Forces Base Shearwater , commonly referred to as CFB Shearwater and formerly named HMCS ''Shearwater'', is a Canadian Forces facility located east southeast of Shearwater, Nova Scotia, on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Hali ...

subsequently functioned as Halifax's primary airport until the current airport was opened. In October 1945, the City of Halifax asked the federal Department of Transport for help choosing a site for a new civil airport. A key factor was to find a site near Halifax with a minimal number of days per year when fog would affect airport operation. Lucasville was favoured, but after a year of study it was found to have similar average visibility to the frequently foggy airport at Shearwater. A site near Kelly Lake was then scrutinized based on a recommendation by

Trans-Canada Air Lines Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGrego ...

. After two years of monitoring, the site was officially approved in 1954 for construction of a modern, C$5 million airport. The land was purchased by the City of Halifax on April 5, 1955, while the federal Department of Transport was tasked with building the airport.

Construction and early years

Construction of the new airport began in November 1955. The runways were built by Diamond Construction of Halifax. The modernist terminal building was designed by Gilleland and Strutt, an architecture firm which previously designed a similar-looking terminal at Ottawa. The new airport was substantially completed in June 1960, and a temporary licence for daytime

visual flight rules In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better ...

(VFR) operations was issued that month. An opening gala was held on

Dominion Day Dominion Day was a day commemorating the granting of certain countries Dominion status — that is, "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external ...

of 1960, the same day a licence permitting full operations was issued. At 4:50 am on August1, 1960 the first airplane landed there, a

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Visc ...

running the Trans-Canada Airlines Flight 400 between Montreal and Newfoundland. It was piloted by Halifax native W.E. Barnes. The first overseas flight arrived an hour later, travelling from London en route to Montreal. The airport was formally inaugurated on September 10, 1960, by the

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...

George Hees George Harris Hees (June 17, 1910 – June 11, 1996) was a Canadian politician and businessman. Background Born in Toronto, Hees earned a playboy image during his youth (nicknamed Gorgeous George), but then became a stalwart member of the Prog ...

. The ultimate cost of construction was about $18 million. Passenger numbers grew steadily during the first few decades of operation. The passenger terminal was substantially renovated in 1966. A passenger terminal extension opened in July 1976, which saw the installation of the airport's first three

air bridge ''Air Bridge'' is a 1951 thriller novel by the British writer Hammond Innes. It is set during the Berlin Airlift, and features a former RAF pilot now on the run from the police after becoming involved in shady activities after the war. Like all of ...

s. By 1990, approximately 2,500,000 passengers passed through the airport annually, up from about 180,000 when it first opened. A southern expansion was opened in December 1994 by Minister of Transport Doug Young, while the check-in area was expanded in 1998. Owing to the National Airports Policy, announced in 1994, the

(HIAA) was founded in November 1995. Management of the airport was officially passed from Transport Canada to HIAA on February 1, 2000.

Operation Yellow Ribbon

Following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

the airport took part in Operation Yellow Ribbon, commenced to accept United States civilian flights after the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

closed down U.S. airspace. Halifax airport took in 47 flights—more flights than any other Canadian airport involved in the operation—carrying about 7,300 passengers—more passengers than any other Canadian airport involved in the operation other than

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, which registered 8,500. Much of this was because flights that were coming from Europe were told to avoid the major airports in Central Canada, like

Toronto Pearson Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surro ...

, Montréal-Dorval, and

Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport Ottawa/Macdonald–Cartier International Airport or Macdonald–Cartier International Airport (french: L'aéroport international Macdonald-Cartier) is the main international airport serving Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and its metropolitan area kno ...

. Shortly after the attacks, the airport was advised that as many as 40 to 50 planes would divert to Halifax. In response, runway 15/33 (now 14/32) was shut down to accommodate the parked aircraft. The first diverted aircraft, a United Airlines

Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...

, arrived at 11:35 am. The number of arriving passengers greatly outstripped the capacity of the airport, which faced processing 7,000–8,000 people with an arrivals facility designed to handle 900 per hour. The Halifax municipal government was tasked with providing emergency shelter, food, transportation and care to the stranded travellers, who were housed in city sports complexes and schools, churches, universities, military bases, as well as the homes of private citizens. A memorial ceremony was held in the airport terminal on September 14, 2001. To honour the people of Gander and Halifax for their support during the operation,

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

named a new

Airbus A340-300 The Airbus A340 is a long-haul, long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the Airbus A300, A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 qu ...

''Gander-Halifax'' on May 16, 2002. That airplane is listed with the registration D-AIFC, and is the first aircraft of the whole fleet with a city name outside of Germany. On September 11, 2006, five years after the attacks,

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...

visited Halifax airport and delivered a speech of thanks.

Renaming

After the December 2003 death of

, the former

and federal Leader of the Official Opposition, several proposals were made in Nova Scotia to honour the widely respected politician. In early 2005 the airport's governing board voted to rename the terminal building after Stanfield. The terminal was officially rechristened in a ceremony held on September 9, 2005, when the Stanfield family unveiled a brass memorial plaque in the airport observation floor. On Friday February 9, 2007

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

arrived at the airport and formally renamed the entire facility from "Halifax International Airport" to "Halifax Robert L. Stanfield International Airport" in a further honour to Stanfield; at that time the terminal name was dropped and reverted to its original status.

Awards

Halifax International Airport fared well in the 2005 AETRA survey for passenger satisfaction, produced by the

International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

(IATA) and

Airports Council International Airports Council International (ACI) is an organization of airport authorities aimed at unifying industry practices for airport standards. Established in 1991, its headquarters (ACI World) are based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and its members ...

. The airport was ranked the best airport in the Americas for the second year in a row, as well as the best airport in the less than 5 million passengers a year category for the third year in a row (worldwide), and best domestic airport for the second year in a row. In March 2007, the airport earned two first-place finishes in the 2006 Airports Council International (ACI) Service Quality Awards held in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. For the fourth consecutive year, it ranked first in overall passenger satisfaction for airports worldwide with under five million passengers. In addition, the airport ranked first in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

in the new category of Airport People Awards, and second in the best domestic airport worldwide category. In early 2010, Halifax Stanfield was rated by passengers as the Best Airport in the World in its class (under 5 million) for the seventh year in a row. In 2011 it won third ''Best Airport in North America'' of the Airport Service Quality Awards by

, as well as 3rd ''Best Airport by Size'' in the 2 to 5 million passenger category.

Facilities

Halifax Stanfield International Airport check-in hall

Terminal

The Air Terminal Building (ATB) was opened in August 1960. It cost about C$4.5 million to construct and, upon opening, included health, immigration and customs facilities for international passengers; a restaurant; a control tower and administrative offices; and two observation decks that projected onto the apron. It was designed by Gilleland and Strutt of Ottawa, in collaboration with C.D. Davidson of Halifax as well as A.W. Ramsey, chief architect at the Department of Transport. The main contractor was Ellis-Don. The modern complex contained Nova Scotia's first set of escalators. Today, the terminal serves over four million passengers per year. The growth experienced in the decades since the airport's construction has necessitated constant renovations, and there is often construction occurring there. Since the HIAA took over management of the airport in 2000, over $200 million has been invested in improvements to the terminal building. A new international arrivals area, three times larger than the previous one, opened at the north end of the terminal in August 2001. The upper level of this expansion included a space reserved for

United States border preclearance The United States Department of Homeland Security operates prescreening border control facilities at airports and other ports of departure located outside of the United States under agreement between it and the host country. Travelers are subj ...

facilities (see below). A new domestic arrivals hall, accommodating three baggage reclaim belts and a Nova Scotia visitor's centre, officially opened on December 18, 2002. Work also began in 2002 on a significant renovation to the central lobby of the terminal building. This expanded retail and dining space opened as the Airport Square on November 9, 2003. A third-storey public observation deck opened at the same time. A southern terminal expansion was completed in 2005, expanding the departures holdroom, adding three new jet bridges, and creating a dedicated commuter aircraft facility with new ground-loading gates. In December 2004,

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

approved Halifax for U.S. border preclearance. It took effect in late 2006. HIAA used to be the busiest airport in Canada without U.S. customs preclearance. On September 12, 2007, the airport authority announced the construction of a 2,300 space, five-storey parking garage, which was completed on March 12, 2009. Several improvements to the terminal were made in 2018–19. A three-storey extension to the central portion of the terminal building was constructed, projecting into the centre apron. The ground floor houses an expanded security screening area, increasing capacity and allowing for the implementation of "CATSA Plus", the

Canadian Air Transport Security Authority The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA; french: Administration canadienne de la sûreté du transport aérien) is the Canadian Crown Corporation responsible for security screening of people and baggage and the administration of ide ...

's latest checkpoint design, which requires more space. The second floor contains an expanded, double-height passenger waiting area, with additional seating, as well as new dining and retail space. At the same time, new security features were added around the terminal, including anti-ramming bollards, blast-resistant glazing, more security cameras, and new access control features. Lastly, the domestic baggage claim area was renovated for cosmetic reasons. Ceilings were raised, column sizes were reduced, and new flooring was installed. The terminal now has a total of 32 gate positions, with 13 using airbridges (gates 12, 14–16, 18, 20, 22–24, and 26–28). The remaining gates are ground-loading positions. Gates 22–24 and 26–28 are swing gates: a glassed-in secure corridor allows incoming international passengers and pre-cleared departing US passengers to be segregated from those in the domestic/international departure lounge; when used for US departures, these gates are numbered 52–54 and 56–58, respectively. Gates 2 (a-e) to 9 are ground-loading positions dedicated to domestic regional operations. Gates 34 to 46 are ground-loading gate positions for US flights.

Runways and taxiways

Halifax Stanfield has had two runways, arranged perpendicular to each other, since opening in 1960. In press releases the airport authority refers to the longer one as the "main runway" and the shorter as the "secondary runway". All taxiways are wide except for the 50-foot-wide taxiway K. The airport opened with (using the present-day naming scheme) taxiways A, B (formerly part of A), C, D (section between the apron and the main runway), G, E, F, and H. Then-taxiway B and most of taxiway D (now M and D; see below) were constructed in 1982, providing a taxi route paralleling runway 14/32. In 2010, extension of the taxiway system resulted in an increased airside area, creating space for several newly constructed large hangars.

Canadian Helicopters Canadian Helicopters Limited, formerly a part of the Canadian operations of CHC Helicopter Corporation, operates 112 aircraft from 26 bases across Canada and provides a broad range of helicopter services to support the following activities: emerg ...

, Gateway Facilities, and IMP Group operate these new hangars along taxiways J and K. In November 2012, an extension of both ends of runway 05/23 was completed to accommodate larger, wide-body aircraft. This increased its length from to . This increase resulted in the renaming of several taxiways: taxiway B became M, and the end of taxiway A was renamed B. Taxiway F was also extended to meet the threshold of runway 23. In 2016 a new apron was constructed off taxiway J to serve primarily as a place to park cargo freighters. The airport covers a total of 2,372 acres (960 ha) of land.

Hotel

As early as the 1980s, the private sector expressed interest in building a hotel next to the airport terminal. In May 1988, Halifax-based Keddy's Motor Inns, a major Maritime hotel chain, signed a contract with Transport Canada to build a $20-million, 200-room hotel on Transport Canada-owned land opposite the terminal. Work on the Pegasus Hotel began in May 1990. After over $4 million had been spent, construction was halted in December 1990 by the main contractor, GEM Construction Specialists, due to unpaid work. Keddy's faced financial troubles and was $35 million in debt, and project funding from a consortium of Hong Kongese and Taiwanese immigrant investors fell through. The federal government searched for a company interested in completing the project, but the only proposal received was deemed inadequate. The unfinished shell of the hotel was considered an embarrassing eyesore, and Transport Canada demolished it in 1996. The airport authority announced on May 13, 2008, that a letter of intent had been signed with New Castle Hotels and Southwest Properties for construction of a 176-room Sheraton hotel. It was estimated to cost about $30 million and would have included a fitness centre, swimming pool, conference centre, and dining facilities. In early 2009 the airport authority and the developers jointly agreed to postpone construction of the hotel due to the global

economic downturn In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

. In early 2010 the developers pulled out of the deal. On October 26, 2011, the airport authority announced the construction of an on-site 14-storey, 169-room, Alt Hotel. Linked to both the passenger terminal and the parking garage by an enclosed footbridge, the $27 million building was built by Marco Construction of Halifax and opened in 2013. Operated by Groupe Germain Hospitalité, the hotel includes conference and banquet facilities, a fitness centre, a pool, and a 24-hour cafe. It was built with soundproof windows to block aircraft noise.

Operations

The airport is served by several

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...

s (FBOs), which handle fueling, ground handling, hangarage, catering, etc. They include Air Canada Technical Services, Aircraft Service International, Gateway Facilities, Halifax International Fuel Facility Consortium (HIFFC), Inland Technologies, Innotech-Execaire, PAL Aviation Services, Shell AeroCentre, Strategic Aviation, and

Swissport Swissport International Ltd. is a Swiss aviation services company providing airport ground, lounge hospitality and cargo handling services. Its headquarters are located in Opfikon, Canton of Zürich, Switzerland. It handles around 282 million ...

Halifax Regional Police The Halifax Regional Police (HRP) is one of a number of law enforcement agencies operating in the Halifax, Nova Scotia; the other primaries being the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Forces Military Police. The city also is home to a ...

provides policing services. Emergency rescue and firefighting services are based in the Combined Services Complex (CSC), which also houses the airport's maintenance operations. The C$24-million, building opened in 2010, replacing the previous fire hall (built 1981) as well as the former maintenance garage, which opened with the airport in 1960. The complex includes a fire station, vehicular wash and storage bays, offices, conference rooms, staff rooms, sleeping quarters, and an emergency communications centre. The CSC was the first

LEED certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

building at the airport. Halifax International Airport was one of a handful of sites in eastern North America designated an emergency landing site for the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

if a launch was aborted following liftoff. The airport kept in contact with

and the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

during each shuttle launch.

Business park

The airport is located adjacent to the Aerotech Business Park, a municipally-run

business park A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typically ...

originally catering towards aviation companies. The zoning has since been changed to allow for other types of companies to locate there. The largest tenants are

Pratt & Whitney Canada Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC or P&WC) is a Canada-based aircraft engine manufacturer. PWC's headquarters are in Longueuil, Quebec, just outside Montreal. It is a division of the larger US-based Pratt & Whitney (P&W), itself a business unit of ...

and

L3 Communications L3 Technologies, formerly L-3 Communications Holdings, was an American company that supplied command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ( C3ISR) systems and products, avionics, ocean products, training ...

Ongoing developments

The latest airport master plan was published in January 2011. Many of its proposals have since been realised, such as construction of an on-site hotel, the southern terminal expansion, and extensions of the main runway. Possible future plans outlined in this document include new taxiways and parking stands, another de-icing area, space for new logistics and aviation services development, and a major expansion of the public road network (partly built) to facilitate development of a large commercial area between the airport and the highway. On November 15, 2018, transport minister

Marc Garneau Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau (born February 23, 1949) is a Canadian politician, retired Royal Canadian Navy officer and former astronaut who served as a Cabinet minister from 2015 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Par ...

announced Government of Canada funding, via the National Trade Corridors Fund, toward a $36-million expansion of the airport's air cargo handling facilities. The federal government will contribute $18 million, while $5 million will come from the province and $13 million from the airport authority. The expansion will be built on forested land adjacent to the existing cargo area.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Charter

The following companies operate from private hangars or FBOs at the airport: *

Provincial Airlines Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

(also leases a Beech Super King Air 200 to

Emergency Health Services Emergency Health Services (EHS) is a branch of the Nova Scotia Department of Health tasked with providing emergency medical services. It is also responsible for transportation of patients between hospitals and medical facilities. At present, all ...

for use as air ambulance when the EHS helicopter is unavailable) *

Sable Aviation Sable Aviation (legal name Sable Aviation 44 60 Incorporated) is an on-demand aircraft charter company operating from the Gateway Facilities hangar/FBO at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport whose primary role is to provide fixed wing s ...

Statistics

Incidents and accidents

* On 17 March 1965, a

Handley Page Dart Herald The Handley Page Dart Herald is a 1950s British turboprop passenger aircraft. Design and development In the mid-1950s Handley Page developed a new fast short-range regional airliner, intended to replace the older Douglas DC-3, particularly in ...

operated by

Eastern Provincial Airways Eastern Provincial Airways, also known as EPA, was an airline that operated in Atlantic and eastern Canada. At its peak, the carrier operated jet service with Boeing 737-200 aircraft connecting many communities that today only have scheduled pa ...

and bound for Sydney, NS, crashed in Upper Musquodoboit, about 15 minutes after taking off from Halifax. While climbing, the aircraft broke apart due to corrosion. The three crew members and five passengers on board were all killed. * On December 18, 1979, a

Piper Navajo The Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engined aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, most using Lycoming engines. It was also license-built in a number of Latin American countries. Tar ...

light plane working a courier service crashed at Halifax airport, killing two and destroying many documents detailing transactions from 59 banks in Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. * On July 17, 1987, a four-seat

Bell 206 The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progra ...

helicopter operated by Versatile Air Services crashed next to Highway 102 near the airport. Two were injured and the aircraft was destroyed. * On the night of September 2, 1998, Swissair Flight 111, a scheduled flight from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, declared a

pan-pan The radiotelephony message PAN-PAN is the international standard urgency signal that someone aboard a boat, ship, aircraft, or other vehicle uses to declare that they have a situation that is urgent, but for the time being, does not pose an immed ...

after the crew noticed smoke in the cockpit. The flight crew attempted to divert to Halifax after dumping fuel, but crashed into the sea at the entrance of St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia, about 60 km from the airport. All 229 passengers and crew were killed. * On October 14, 2004,

MK Airlines Flight 1602 MK Airlines Flight 1602 was an MK Airlines Boeing 747-200F cargo flight on a flight from Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Nova Scotia, Canada to Zaragoza Airport, Spain. It crashed on take-off in 2004, killing the crew of 7. It was the fo ...

, a

Boeing 747-200F The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

, crashed during takeoff from runway 23. All seven crew members died. * On March 29, 2015, Air Canada Flight 624 crashed while attempting to land at the airport, shortly after midnight in stormy weather. All 137 passengers and crew survived. The crash cut power to the airport and damaged runway 05's antenna array. The aircraft was destroyed. *On November 7, 2018, Sky Lease Cargo Flight 4854, a

Boeing 747-400F The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting ...

, overran runway 14 while landing and came to a rest near the Old Guysborough Road. All four crew members survived with minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. * On January 5, 2020,

WestJet WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, near Calgary International Airport. It is the second-largest Canadian airline, behind Air Canada, operating an average of 777 flights and carrying more than 66,130 ...

Flight 248, a

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...

from Toronto to Halifax carrying 172 passengers and seven crew, overran runway 14 while landing. There were no injuries.

Ground transport

Bus

MetroX route 320 is an express bus service that travels between the city centre and the airport, with intermediate stops at the Dartmouth Bridge Terminal and the suburb of

Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

. The route is operated by

Halifax Transit Halifax Transit is a Canadian public transport service operating buses and ferries in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded as Metro Transit in March 1981, the agency runs two ferry routes, 66 conventional bus routes (including corridor, local, and expre ...

(formerly Metro Transit) and runs all day on both weekdays and weekends.

Car

The airport is located at Exit 6 of

Highway 102 Route 102 or Highway 102 can refer to multiple roads: China * China National Highway 102 Canada * New Brunswick Route 102 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 102 * Nova Scotia Highway 102 * Ontario Highway 102 * Prince Edward Island Route 1 ...

, which connects Halifax to the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

. It is a 28-minute drive from

Halifax City Hall Halifax City Hall is the home of municipal government in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Designed by architect Edward Elliot, and constructed for the City of Halifax between 1887 and 1890, it is one of the oldest and largest public buildings in No ...

, the centre of

Downtown Halifax Downtown Halifax is the primary central business district of the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Municipality of Halifax. Located on the central-eastern portion of the Halifax Peninsula, on Halifax Harbour. Along with Downtown Dartmouth, and other de facto ...

. There are numerous car rental agencies located in the lower level of the airport car park. Aside from the parking garage connected to the terminal, the airport also offers

Park 'N Fly Airport Parking Park'N Fly Airport Parking, also known as Park'N Fly, is a Canadian Parking, airport parking operator based in Mississauga, Ontario. It is the largest and only national operator for off-airport car parks in Canada. Park'N Fly is currently owned by ...

, a long-term parking service owned by Hong Kong company

CK Hutchison Holdings CK Hutchison Holdings Limited is a Hong Kong-based and Cayman Islands-registered multinational conglomerate corporation. The company was formed in March 2015 through the merger of Cheung Kong Holdings and its main associate company Hutchison Wh ...

References

Sources *

External links

* * {{authority control 1960 establishments in Nova Scotia Airports established in 1960 Buildings and structures in Halifax, Nova Scotia Certified airports in Nova Scotia Canadian airports with United States border preclearance National Airports System Transport in Halifax, Nova Scotia