John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport , also referred to as Hamilton Airport or Toronto–Hamilton Airport, is an international airport in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The airport is part of the neighbourhood of Mount Hope, southwest of Downtown Hamilton and southwest of Toronto. The airport serves the city of Hamilton and adjacent areas of Southern Ontario, including the Greater Toronto Area. It is considered as a reliever for Toronto Pearson International Airport. The airport is named after John Carr Munro, a longtime Member of Parliament for Hamilton East. The airport opened in 1940 as Mount Hope Airport, which was primarily a Royal Canadian Air Force base, the history of which is reflected at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum located next to the airport. The end of World War II saw the closure of the base, and its conversion to civil use attracted regional and international passenger services with connections to major Canadian cities and seasonal destinations in the United States, the Caribbean and Mexico. Regular services to the United States declined as nearby Buffalo Niagara International Airport gained popularity for cross-border travellers in the region, but Hamilton remained an important base for a number of domestic low-cost carriers. The airport is the third largest cargo airport (after Toronto–Pearson and Vancouver) and the "largest overnight express cargo airport" in Canada. Hamilton includes a asphalt runway with centreline lighting for low-visibility operations and a smaller asphalt runway, enough to handle large cargo operations with aircraft such as the Boeing 747 or Antonov An-124. History Early history Hamilton's first airport was the Hamilton Municipal Airport or Civic Airport at Reid Avenue North and Dunsmure Road (site of Roxborough Park) in 1929. It began as the home to the Hamilton Aeroclub. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) became a major user of the airport in the 1930s, but the airport closed in the 1950s to make way for residential development. In 1940, Mount Hope Airport was opened and became the site of RCAF Station Hamilton. During World War II, the field hosted two units for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan: first, 10 Elementary Flying Training School (later moved to RCAF Station Pendleton) using the De Havilland Tiger Moth and Fleet Finch, then No. 33 Air Navigation School using the Avro Anson. After the war, the airport gradually shifted towards civil use, until the military ceased using it as a base for Air Reserve operations