Halifax Robert L Stanfield International Airport, Nova Scotia, Canada

Halifax Stanfield International Airport is the seventh busiest airport in Canada. It is located in Nova Scotia, Canada, and was opened in 1960. In February 2007, it was renamed as Halifax Robert L Stanfield International Airport. It is owned by Transport Canada and operated by Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA).

The airport served more than 3.5 million passengers and recorded 87,015 aircraft movements in 2010. It handled 28,450t of cargo during the same year.

Expansion projects

HIAA initiated its airfield restoration programme at the airport in May 2005. The project includes long-term maintenance of runways and taxiways of the airport, which were not upgraded since 1987. The programme has been planned to be executed with a year-wise schedule.

Works in the first year of the project started in May 2005 and were completed in October 2005. The works included milling and paving, as well as construction of a new electrical duct bank, installing new cables, stop bars, and lights on taxiways, and installing new regulators. They involved an investment of $8.5m.

Renovation of runway 14/32

Works planned for the second year of the programme were completed in summer 2006. The focus was on the renovation of runway 14/32. While this work was being carried out on runway 14/32, the main runway 05/23 remained in service to ensure continued operations.

Paving and lighting installations were completed on a portion of runway 05/23 as part of third year works, in 2007. Runway 14/32 remained operational during this phase of construction.

In the fourth year of construction, in 2008, work on the final portion of runway 05/23 was completed.

In the fifth and sixth years, 2009 and 2010 respectively, construction of apron areas and taxiways was completed.

Works in the seventh and final year of the airfield restoration programme began in May 2011. They will be completed in three phases by 30 August 2011. Total funding for the 2011 programme is $7.5m.

Construction plans for Halifax Robert L Stanfield Airport

In the first phase of construction, restoration to an aircraft parking apron will be completed. This replacement of concrete slabs at gate number 24 is expected to be completed by 18 July. In the second phase of construction, work on a taxiway delta is scheduled to be completed by August 30. In the third and final phase of construction taxiway foxtrot is expected to be completed by August 30.

In July 2009, construction was started on a new multitenant cargo facility. The $15m project included construction of 40,000² facility, with 7,000² of temperature-controlled cargo space. The facility was officially opened in June 2010.

A ten-year capital plan (2011-2020) to improve the passenger safety and upgrade airport facilities was announced in August 2010. It will include expansion of domestic and international check-in halls, expansion of north and south ends of the existing terminal, food and retail spaces and new space to accommodate additional jet bridges.

HIAA initiated a $28.3m runway (05/23) extension project at the airport in February 2011. The project includes extension of the runway length from the existing 2,682m to 3,200m. It will be funded by Federal government, Provincial government and HIAA with $9.1m, $5.05m and $14.1m respectively. The design and engineering works will be completed by 2011 and the construction is expected to be completed by late 2013.

Airport terminal features

The airport has a single passenger terminal with three levels, namely the main, lower and departure levels. The terminal was opened in September 1960. The main level is for domestic and international check-in and arrivals. The facilities on the main level include check-in, pre-board security screening, restaurants and retail shopping.

Car rental companies and other ground transportation facilities are located in the lower level of the terminal. The lower level has south, north and central tunnels which connect to parking and car rental areas.

The departure level is used for domestic and international departures. It also houses US check-in and US pre-board security screening counters. The terminal has 32 gates, 13 bridge positions, 45 check-in desks, 23 self-service check-in kiosks, and five baggage claim belts.

Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the terminal. The airport has four cargo handling facilities with a total warehouse capacity of 110,051ft².

Runways

The airport has two runways. The first runway (05/23) is 2,682m long and features instrument landing system (ILS) category II standards. The second runway (14/32) is 2,347m in length and conforms to ILS Category I standards.

Parking areas

The airport has a five-level parkade with 1,900 public parking spaces, along with 400 spaces for rental cars.  Another 800 spaces are available in the exterior surface parking lot and the Park’N Fly facility has an additional 2,800 spaces available.

Maintenance facilities

The airport has aircraft maintenance, mechanical handling, heated storage, air-conditioned storage and refrigerated storage facilities. The maintenance facilities include fuelling, ground handling and catering and so on. They are served by fixed base operators such as Esso Avitat, Shell AeroCentre and Gateway Facilities.