Sarnia's own Chris Hadfield has penned a letter to city council, urging them to reinvest in his namesake airport.
During council's meeting on February 10, they'll debate whether to divest the airport, reinvest in it, or figure out whether or not the city helps operate it.
In his letter, Hadfield noted air travel is booming, worldwide as there are over 117,000 airline flights per day.
"As aviation technology improves and population climbs, that number is increasing," said Hadfield. "So is the need for trained pilots, aerospace technicians, and support/repair facilities. Sarnia needs to be a part of this industry."
While Hadfield recognizes there is currently no scheduled airline service to Sarnia, he said there are all-electric and hybrid aircraft currently flying and under development that can again make Sarnia a profitable destination for a major carrier, especially as Canada’s population grows.
"And with that growth, the alternative of congested road driving to Detroit or Toronto airports becomes less and less practical," he said. "There are many good examples nationally of communities of comparable size to Sarnia that have made their airports centres of profitable industry, with and without airline service, like Brantford, Barrie/Lake Simcoe, Muskoka, Collingwood and Kamloops. We can and should do the same. Their city council processes and actions would be beneficial to understand."
Hadfield went on to suggest the flight training program at Fanshawe College with Diamond Aircraft is overtaxing London airport’s capabilities.
"Having Sarnia airport developed with residency, hangars and a flight school should be negotiated, like Seneca College did at Peterborough airport – they call it the Seneca Polytechnic Peterborough Campus. Let’s do that here," he said. "Some of the open land at Sarnia airport is available for development: light industry, warehousing, soccer fields, ball diamonds, garden plots, etc. Kamloops is actively changing their zoning to enable this. Our airport’s location on a major highway near the border makes it doubly attractive."
Hadfield said Sarnia-Lambton is also an historic training ground for aerospace leaders.
"They include Owen Maynard who was chief engineer for the Apollo Lunar lander, Mac Evans who was president of the Canadian Space Agency, myself as Canada’s first spacewalker and spaceship commander, General Kevin Whale who was director general of space for our military, and actor James Doohan, the Star Trek series chief engineer, Scotty," he said. "The very first time I flew in an airplane it was from Sarnia airport. We were all inspired by aviation and aerospace here in Sarnia, just as young Sarnians are now."
Hadfield concluded his letter by imploring council to make the airport a continued, vital part of the city, and to seek and enable opportunities for further growth.
"If the capabilities and facilities at Sarnia airport were lost, they would be near-impossible to replace," he said.
Despite Air Canada grounding its flights for good in Sarnia in 2020, Chris Hadfield Airport is still used by corporations, Air Ornge, policing agencies and private pilots.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley had indicated the possibility of opening up the site to new opportunities, like re-establishing Sarnia's Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) detachment there, sponsorship, land development, or even a museum dedicated to Chris Hadfield.
The operating agreement between the city and Scottsdale Aviation is set to expire on June 30, 2027, however a decision regarding termination or extension needs to be made between June and December 2025 due to the expiration of the subsidy and termination rights as of December 31, 2025. The airport was divested to the city from the federal government in 1997.
With files from Melanie Irwin