History Halifax Stanfield International Airport

The airport terminal soon after construction in 1960

Background:An airfield in the 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 1941, when it was closed and leased to the federal government to serve as an army camp Today Saunders Park, named after the first Halifax airport manager and Aero Club manager Donald Saunders, and some parts of the residential area of Westmount Subdivision, mark the site. RCAF Station Shearwater 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. 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 Department of Transport was tasked with building the airport

Awards Halifax Stanfield International Airport: Halifax International Airport fared well in the 2005 AETRA survey for passenger satisfaction, produced by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airports Council International. 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, United Arab Emirates. 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 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 Airports Council International, as well as 3rd Best Airport by Size in the 2 to 5 million passenger categor

Terminal Halifax Stanfield International Airport: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 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 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.