Greater Moncton International Airport

Greater Moncton International Airport
Moncton/Greater Moncton International Airport
IATA: YQMICAO: CYQM
WMO: 71705
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Transport Canada
Operator Greater Moncton International Airport Authority
Serves Moncton, New Brunswick
Location Dieppe, New Brunswick
Time zone AST (UTC−04:00)
  Summer (DST) ADT (UTC−03:00)
Elevation AMSL 232 ft / 71 m
Coordinates 46°06′58″N 064°40′43″W / 46.11611°N 64.67861°W / 46.11611; -64.67861Coordinates: 46°06′58″N 064°40′43″W / 46.11611°N 64.67861°W / 46.11611; -64.67861
Website www.gmia.ca
Map
CYQM
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
06/24 10,001 3,048 Asphalt
11/29 8,000 2,438 Asphalt
Statistics (2012)
Aircraft movements 57,208
Passengers 615,085
Sources: Canada Flight Supplement[1]
Environment Canada[2]
Movements from Statistics Canada[3]
Passenger statistics from Greater Moncton International Airport Authority[4]

Greater Moncton International Airport (GMIA, French: Aéroport international du Grand Moncton) or Moncton/Greater Moncton International Airport (IATA: YQM, ICAO: CYQM) is located in the city of Dieppe 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) east northeast of downtown Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

The GMIA handled 647,682 passengers in 2013.[5]

The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). CBSA officers at this airport currently can handle aircraft with up to 225 passengers.[6][7] Nevertheless, planes as large as the 580 passenger Boeing 747 have been handled.[8][9]

GMIA is home to the Moncton Flight College, the largest flight college in Canada.[10]

History

On January 11, 1928, the first scheduled air flight out of the Greater Moncton area took place. This flight was carrying mail and passengers to the Magdalen Islands. Two sites were considered for the first air strip. Leger's Corner was chosen however because of more favourable landing conditions. Part of this land was donated to the city of Moncton by Simon B. LeBlanc of Leger's Corner, a developer, land owner and owner of the LeBlanc general store and post office located on the south corner of the now named streets of Acadie Ave and Champlain St.

In 1929, a local private company bought the land at Léger's Corner airstrip and through the years two runways were constructed as well as structures for aircraft maintenance. It was also in 1929 that the Moncton Aero Club was founded, as was the International Airways Flying School. These later became the Moncton Flight College, one of the pre-eminent flight schools in Canada. Also in the same year, the airport expanded its air mail service to include Prince Edward Island and Montreal.

In 1936, Transport Canada and the local government discussed the possibility of the construction of an airport suitable for trans-Canadian routes. The Léger's Corner site was unsuitable for expansion and instead they chose a site in nearby Lakeburn as the new site for the airport. A paved runway and two additional dirt landing strips were constructed.

In March 1940, the Department of National Defence opened a flight training school under the auspices of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The school trained war pilots for the Commonwealth nations. A new hangar was also constructed at the airport during the war to serve as a repair and maintenance facility.

During the 1940s, civilian air services expanded and became available serving Montreal, Halifax, Charlottetown, Sydney, Saint John, Fredericton and Newfoundland. The hangar of Trans-Canada Airlines (later Air Canada), became the location for the first air terminal. In 1952, a larger hangar was converted into a modern air terminal but it was very shortly thereafter destroyed by fire. In 1953, a replacement air terminal was constructed.

Further expansion in 1964 brought many changes to the airport including an air traffic control tower and a new operations building. In 1976, the air terminal was again expanded.

Throughout the years, many renovations were made to the air terminal building, including in 1998-99, an international arrivals area to suit the needs of 1999's eighth Sommet de la Francophonie. A large landing apron was constructed at the same time at the opposite side of the airport in a location which would later become the site of the new international airport terminal. This landing apron would be pressed into service in a dramatic manner on September 11, 2001 when airspace over North America was shut down following the World Trade Center attacks. A dozen flights with over 2,000 passengers were diverted to the Greater Moncton Airport.

A Porter Airlines banner inside the terminal

In May 2001, the new, state-of-the-art international air terminal was completed and officially opened in 2002 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Greater Moncton International Airport is the busiest airport in New Brunswick, servicing more than 552,629 passengers per year.

In May 2006, Continental Airlines' subsidiary Continental Express began Moncton's only nonstop service to the United States with once-daily (sometimes twice daily) flights to Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, near New York City.

Also, in June 2010 Porter Airlines began a service to Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier. This route also indirectly connects Moncton to Toronto by linking passengers going to or from Billy Bishop Toronto airport through a stop in Ottawa.[11]

Both FedEx Express and Purolator Courier also have large hangars at the airport.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Westjet 737 departing for Hamilton.
Westjet B737-700 departing for Hamilton
AC A321 in YQM.
An Air Canada Airbus A321 just arrived from Toronto
AirlinesDestinations
Air Canada Express Halifax, Montréal–Trudeau, Ottawa, Toronto–Pearson
Air Transat Seasonal: Cancun, Punta Cana
Canadian North Seasonal charter: Miami
Charter: Hamilton (ON), Montréal–Trudeau, Halifax, London, Sydney (NS)[12]
Porter Airlines Ottawa
Sunwing Airlines Seasonal: Cayo Coco, Montego Bay, Orlando–International, Punta Cana, Varadero
WestJet Toronto–Pearson
Seasonal: Cancun, Orlando–International[13]
WestJet Encore Ottawa

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
FedEx Express
operated by Morningstar Air Express
Halifax
KF Cargo Brussels, Toronto-Pearson
Purolator Courier
operated by Cargojet Airways
Hamilton, Montreal–Mirabel
SkyLink Express
UPS Airlines
operated by Bluebird Cargo
Reykjavík–Keflavík

See also

References

External links

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