Porter Airlines (P3, Toronto Billy Bishop City Centre) has settled a dispute over terminal fees with Nieuport Aviation Infrastructure Partners LP, owner of Toronto Billy Bishop City Centre's passenger terminal, the airline announced in a statement. The terms of the settlement are undisclosed.

A dispute arose between the parties before the pandemic about the fees Nieuport charged at the airport, commonly known as Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (BBTCA). With the onset of Covid-19, Porter Airlines voluntarily suspended its operations on March 20, 2020, for 18 months until September 8, 2021, though the airport remained open. The airline sought to enforce "force majeure" clauses in its contract with Nieuport, claiming it could not fulfil its obligations due to circumstances beyond its control.

Following a four-week trial in late 2021 and early 2022, the Ontario Superior Court on October 19, 2022, ruled that Porter was not entitled to relief from its contractual obligations as a result of the pandemic and ordered it to pay damages of more than CAD130 million Canadian dollars (USD95.3 million).

This ruling came after Porter and Nieuport had sued each other over various issues, including the airline's move to relinquish take-off and landing slots and withhold payments. The carrier was seeking CAD20 million (USD15 million) in damages for breach of contract plus CAD1 million (USD733,000) in damages and legal fees after Nieuport Aviation charged Porter Airlines CAD35 million (USD29 million) for unused slots at the airport, in addition to CAD13.5 million (USD10 million) for slots the carrier had already relinquished in January 2020. The airport operator also threatened to seize three of the airline's DHC-8-Q400s.

Porter Airlines took the matter to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Still, last week, the parties confirmed they "have now amicably resolved their outstanding disputes and litigation," according to separate statements. "We are pleased to see a resolution to this matter," said Nieuport Aviation president and CEO Neil Pakey.

ch-aviation has asked Porter Airlines for comment.