Niagara Airport Unveils Master Plan to Boost Tourism and Economy
Posted on: November 13, 2025, 10:41h.
Last updated on: November 13, 2025, 11:23h.
- New airport Master Plan calls for a $195 million terminal and runway expansion for Niagara Falls
- Premier of Ontario and Niagara Falls Mayor have called for more casino expansion
- Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment has a monopoly operating Niagara casinos
If, as the Premier of Ontario Doug Ford says, the future of Niagara Falls comes down to building more casinos, making it a Las Vegas north, that begins and ends with airport expansion.
As Americans who travel north to Niagara Falls to check out the casinos can attest, it’s a drag flying into Pearson Airport in Toronto, then having to catch transportation for the two-hour drive to Niagara Falls.
Niagara District Airport recently released its 2025-2045 master plan, focusing on changing the airport, about a 12-minute drive north of Niagara Falls, from a general aviation hub to a modern regional gateway, bringing in commercial aviation flights from across Canada and the US.
The plans call for upgrades to the airport terminal, additional parking, extending the runway, establishing Canadian Air Transport Security Authority and Canada Border Services Agency amenities, which Niagara Economic Development says will potentially generate more than $1 billion in economic output, bringing in millions of passengers through Niagara.
$195 Million Airport Expansion
“As one of Canada’s top tourism regions, Niagara deserves an airport that makes it convenient for national and international visitors to enjoy our region’s wineries, restaurants, and attractions,” said Greg Wight, chair of the Niagara District Airport Commission. “What makes our airport’s opportunity unique is the unmatched location.”
The Niagara region sees around 12 million annual visitors, but tourism growth has been flat since 2013, according to a statement from Niagara Economic Development.
A revitalized airport, at a cost of $195 million, capable of accommodating over 600K passengers and more than 50K flights annually, is a solution to that. The best-case scenario by 2035 is an airport that offers year-round service to two to three Canadian cities, two US hubs (New York and Chicago), and at least two sunny destinations. Construction on the new airport laid out in the plan would begin in 2029.
Renewed Political Focus on New Casinos
The Niagara District Airport Commission has approved the master plan, and it has moved on to next steps, including pursuing funding strategies (provincial and federal), engaging with airline carriers, and launching community engagement initiatives.
We’re the biggest population in Canada [540,000] without regular daily schedule flights,” said Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati. “This is the road map to get us there.”
Both Mayor Diodati and Premier Ford are on record over the past year talking about how they want to see Niagara Falls revitalized, which includes building more casinos.
Penn’s Interest: Canadian Land-Based Casinos
Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment has exclusive rights to operate the two casinos in Niagara Falls until 2040, but the provincial government wants to modify that deal and allow other companies to come in. The original deal with Mohegan was struck in 2018.
As we previously reported, Penn Entertainment President and CEO Jay Snowden was asked during a conference call reporting Q3 2025 financial results last week about the company’s interest in pursuing land-based casino opportunities in Canada, specifically to complement its iGaming digital properties in the country.
At this point, theScore BET is licensed in Ontario, with the company looking to expand to Alberta when that Ontario-style regulated market goes live, likely in 2026. People in Toronto will remember MGM Resorts International taking an aggressive run at building a casino downtown in 2013
That’s something that’s been on our radar before. There’s not a lot of options there. There are two larger operators in Canada from a retail perspective,” Snowden said.
Talking about Ontario, those companies are Great Canadian Entertainment and Gateway Casinos and Entertainment Ltd., with Hard Rock having just opened a casino in Ottawa, plus the Mohegan deal to manage the Niagara casinos.
Premier Ford, in his comments last year, emphasized how he didn’t want to just make Niagara Falls more of a casino destination, but more of a tourist attraction overall. Marineland, for example, was closed in 2024.
There’s been a lot of discussion about the future of the region from an entertainment perspective aside from adding additional casinos, making it more of an appropriate destination for kids and families.
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