This is all about technology that will probably be required at Billy Bishop (Toronto Island) after it grows to the size of Ottawa International Airport. That’s the reasonable estimate of the relatively early growth at the island if jets arrive. The island is a classic case of an airport where the runway leaves pilots with no crash room and there are dozens of them in the U.S. The so-called EMAS (Engineered Material Arresting System) consists of large blocks of material at the end of the runway which break up when a jet smashes into them. The friction will stop a loaded 767 abruptly but safely. The issue at the island is that once jets are installed, it will impossible to prevent every regional airline on the continent from demanding a piece of the runways. It will be crowded.
