Victoria International Airport
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Victoria International Airport (IATA Airport Code: YYJ) serves Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is 22 kilometres north of the city, quite close the town of Sidney on the Saanich Peninsula. The airport is run by the Victoria Airport Authority. Due to the proximity of Vancouver International Airport, Victoria hosts very few airlines and flights.
Like most airports that are run by local authorities in Canada, Victoria International Airport charges a Airport Improvement Fee for each outgoing passenger. As of 2004, this fee was set at $5.
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History
The airport started in 1914 as a grass strip, and was used by the Allied forces in World War 1 as a training base. The airport is located beside Patricia Bay, which due the prevalence of flying boats at the time, made the airport an excellent location. By the 1930s it was owned privately by British Columbia Airways Ltd. Due to a need for a large military airfield on Southern Vancouver Island, the Department of Transport took over the airport in 1948. It was then called Victoria (Patricia Bay) Airport. Trans-Canada Airlines (later Air Canada) began regular service in 1943.
The last of the Royal Canadian Air Force forces left the airport in 1952, but 443 Helicopter Squadron of Canadian Forces Air Command began operating CH-124 Sea King ship-borne anti-submarine helicopters from Victoria International Airport (which the military refers to as Patricia Bay) in the late 1980s.
In 1959, the airport was renamed to its present name of the Victoria International Airport.
In 1997, as a broad scale restructing of airports across Canada, Transport Canada (formerly the Deparment of Transport), gave operational control of the airport to the Victoria Airport Authority.
In May 2005, the federal government, who own the land, announced a reduction in the rent payed by the airport authority. This will save $0.6 million Canadian each year and $12 million CAD over the life of the lease, which is is 50 years.
Runways
Victoria International has 3 runways, the main being 09-27, with secondary runways at 13-31 and 02-20.
Airlines
Nonstop destinations in parentheses:
- Air Canada (Toronto)
- Air Canada Jazz (Calgary, Vancouver)
- Airspeed Aviation (Abbotsford)
- Craig Air (Tofino/Ucluelet)
- Horizon Air (Seattle)
- Pacific Coastal Airlines (Vancouver)
- Regional 1 (Kamloops, Kelowna)
- WestJet (Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Toronto)
Flight Training
There are several organizations that offer flight training at the airport
Transportation to the airport
Victoria International Airport is served by BC Transit, with the number 70 bus making some stops. There is also a direct bus service run by a local business, as well as taxi service.
External Links
- Victoria International Airport (http://www.cyyj.ca/)
- A-Z World Airports on YYJ (http://www.azworldairports.com/airports/p1290yyj.htm)
- History of airport as a Military station (http://www.bcam.net/history.htm)
- 443 Squadron History (http://www.airforce.forces.ca/12wing/squadron/443hist_e.asp)