Greater Moncton International Airport
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The Greater Moncton International Airport (L'Aéroport international du Grand Moncton) is located minutes from downtown Moncton, New Brunswick in the city of Dieppe. Its IATA Airport Code is YQM.
Air traffic more than doubled between 1997 and 2004.
The airport is serviced by the following carriers:
- Air Canada (Punta Cana, Montreal, Toronto)
- Air Canada Jazz (Halifax)
- CanJet (Toronto, St. John's)
- WestJet (Calgary, Hamilton, Toronto)
And by the following seasonal carriers:
- Corsair (Paris, France)
- Condor (Germany)
- Air St-Pierre (St-Pierre et Miquelon)
- Air Transat
- Skyservice
The airport hosts over 150 flights to 12 destinations with connections to 41 destinations in North America. Paris, France is the farthest destination served directly from Moncton, although trans-Atlantic service is seasonal.
There is a CDN$15 Airport Improvement Fee charged on departure.
History
On January 11, 1928, the first scheduled air flight out of the Greater Moncton area took place. The flight was carrying mail and passengers to the Magdalen Islands. Two sites were considered for the air strip. Leger's Corner was finally chosen because of favorable landing conditions.
In 1929, a local private company bought the land at Léger’s Corner and, through the years, two runways and structures for maintenance on planes were constructed. It was also during this year that the Moncton Aero Club was founded, as well as the International Airways Flying School. In the same year, the airport expanded its air mail service to Prince Edward Island and Montreal.
In 1936, Transport Canada and the local goverment discussed the possibilty of the construction of an airpot suitable for trans-canadian routes The Léger’s Corner site was unsuitable for expansion so they chose Lakeburn as the new site for the airport. An initial paved runway and two additional runways were constructed.
In March of 1940, the National Defense service discussed the possibility of a service flying training school under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The school would train war pilots from the Commonwealth countries. A hangar was also constructed at the airport for a repair and overhaul base during the war.
During the 1940s, air service became available and grew in Montreal, Halifax, Charlottetown Sydney, Saint John, Fredericton and Newfoundland. The hangar of Trans-Canada Airlines, one of the first airlines in the region, was the location for the first air terminal. In 1952, a larger hangar was being converted into a modern air terminal but it was destroyed by fire. In 1953, part of a new air terminal was constructed.
The expansion in 1964 brought many changes to the airport including an air traffic control tower and an operations building. Finally, in 1976, the terminal was completed.
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 Sommet de la Francophonie.
Most recently, in May of 2001, a new, state-of-the-art international terminal was built and opened in 2002 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
External links
- Greater Moncton International Airport (http://www.gma.ca/)