About Our Airport

Our history

The City of Peterborough purchased the Peterborough Airport in 1967. Following an expansion and licensing by Transport Canada, the airport opened for scheduled services in 1969. Since then, we have invested in growth and improvements at the airport, which has evolved into a major aviation-related employment centre for the region.

Key dates in the history of the airport

1946 – Following the Second World War, former Royal Canadian Air Force pilots Harvey Strub, Eldon Purves, Ed Brown and several others moved to Peterborough and began building an airport called Skyboro located in a field on Chemong Road near the Lindsay Highway.

July 1957 – The City of Peterborough and a newly formed Peterborough Airport Company announced that they were jointly developing an airfield southwest of the city.

Early 60s – Harry Oakman acquired property and started building an airport. With the assistance of the City of Peterborough, the group built two turf runways.

1965 – Bradley Air Service became the first commercially operated business to locate at the Peterborough Airport. Harry Oakman leased facilities and land to Bradley Air Service for $1 for the operation of a charter service, flying training school, and the sale, service and maintenance of aircraft.

April 1967 – The City of Peterborough purchased airport land from Harry Oakman. The land the City purchased from Harry Oakman now makes up a portion of the current airport land.

Late 1960s – The hard surface 5,000-foot runway with lighting was built. The runway had PLR of 6 and could support tire pressure of up to 0.69 MPA and a gross take off weight of up to 25,000 kg.

Sept. 21, 1969 – The official opening of the Peterborough Municipal Airport was held.

1995 – The City completed a rehabilitation of the runway and taxiway that upgraded the pavement to a PLR of 8.

Literature on the history of the airport

The Peterborough Airport has a proud history, perhaps best told by out pilots. Ask us about the following writings:

• A History of the Peterborough Airport by Doug Robertson
• PQ Airport History by Ken MacLennan

Major investment, expansion and upgrades to the airport

The Airport Master Plan detailed current conditions at the airport in 2009 and projections for future opportunities. Since 2010, we've invested more than $35 million into infrastructure improvements at the airport.

The most recent investments in the airport started with City, the province and the federal government announcing on October 16, 2009 that they would jointly invest $21 million ($7 million each) through the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund for a major expansion of infrastructure at the airport. The City invested an additional $7.6 million on top of its $7 million share with the other levels of government to bring the total project to $28.6 million. The expansion project set the stage for economic growth, encouraging job creation and new business opportunities.

Our expanded and upgraded aerospace employment park includes:

• A commercial/industrial apron expansion
• Completion of a new central apron
• A spacious air terminal building
• Maintenance facilities
• Fully serviced airside and groundside commercial/industrial development lots
• An expanded general aviation area
• Runway extended to 7,000 feet from 5,000 feet with PLR of 10.6, 188,000 lbs, accommodating narrow bodied aircraft
• Extended Bravo taxiway with holding bay

We completed a second phase of expansion in 2019 with an additional $6 million invested by the City. The second phase included:

• A 2,000 foot paved crosswind runway and supporting parallel taxiway
• Bravo taxiway extension of 1,000 feet to midpoint of runway 09-27