Nearly eight years of planning and construction culminated in the opening of Terminal 1 in 2004. Unlike other airport facility activations internationally, the opening of Terminal 1 was nearly flawless. Systems worked as they were supposed to and passengers found their way to and from new gates. By all accounts, the opening was a success.

This success was founded on the hard work of the GTAA’s Facility Activation Team, who started planning for the activation of Terminal 1 long before the first passengers marvelled at the aesthetics, enjoyed the conveniences afforded by the building, and browsed the eclectic selections available at the many retail shops.

The Facility Activation Team ran extensive trials involving thousands of volunteers to assess the effectiveness of the planned passenger flows and to test the new systems, including loading the baggage system to capacity to ensure reliability. The team explored every operational detail to ensure that opening day would be a day to remember for all the right reasons.

Today, with Terminal 1 fully activated and operational, the GTAA is considered a world leader in airport facility activation and its Airport Development Program is a world-renowned example of best practices and innovation. With these successes, the Facility Activation Team has moved on to a new challenge: a consultancy service to share the best practices, innovation, and in-depth knowledge it has gained rebuilding a major international airport while maintaining full operations without shutting down for a day.

The consultancy service not only increases the GTAA’s profile internationally, it also provides a new source of revenue to make Toronto Pearson more cost effective and competitive. Headed by Steve Silverhart, GTAA General Manager, a team of seasoned airport professionals support other international airports that have terminal openings planned for the near future.

Among the first to benefit from the wealth of collective experience at the GTAA is the British Airports Authority (BAA) who is activating London Heathrow’s new Terminal 5. Scheduled to open on March 27, Terminal 5 will be the largest, most modern terminal building in Europe, able to handle 35 million passengers per year. The GTAA team at Heathrow is comprised of one permanent employee and two others that visit from Toronto at critical junctures in the program.

The consulting team is also sharing their knowledge with colleagues from the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation in the desert oasis of Dubai as they near opening day of their 10.5 million square foot Terminal 3/Concourse 2 project, dedicated to Emirates Airlines. When complete, Dubai International Airport will have the capacity to handle close to 70 million passengers per year. The GTAA has three staff members engaged full time in Dubai, and Silverhart has attended on occasion and will continue to do so until they are complete next May.

In addition to consulting in London and Dubai, Silverhart is pleased to announce that the GTAA consulting team will assist in the redevelopment program taking place at John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) in New York. Construction has begun on JetBlue Airways’ new Terminal 5, a 25-gate, $750 million facility which will incorporate the historic landmark TWA Flight Center terminal, closed after TWA’s demise in 2001.

“We are pleased to be at JFK and that the GTAA is now working at three important world hubs, a very significant achievement in a short period of time, reflective of our program and how it is viewed by other airport operators,” says Silverhart.

For more information on the services offered, please contact Steve Silverhart at Steve.Silverhart@GTAA.com or (416) 776-5506.