Allan J. MacEachen Port Hawkesbury Airport

Allan J. MacEachen Port Hawkesbury Airport[3] (IATA: YPS, ICAO: CYPD) is a registered aerodrome located 2.1 nautical miles (3.9 km; 2.4 mi) north of Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Allan J. MacEachen Port Hawkesbury Airport

Port Hawkesbury Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerMunicipality of Port Hawkesbury
OperatorCeltic Air Services
ServesSouthern Cape Breton Island and the Strait area
LocationPort Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia
Time zoneAST (UTC−04:00)
 • Summer (DST)ADT (UTC−03:00)
Elevation AMSL373 ft / 114 m
Coordinates45°39′23″N 061°22′06″W
Websitehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Port-Hawkesbury-Airport/142868429059008
Map
CYPD
Location in Nova Scotia
CYPD
CYPD (Canada)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
11/29 5,000 1,524 Asphalt
Sources: Canada Flight Supplement[1]
Environment Canada[2]

A short drive from the "gateway of Cape Breton Island" at the Canso Causeway, the airport is located near several tourist draws including the Cabot Links, fishing in the Margaree River as well as other tourist draws on Cape Breton Island and the eastern mainland of Nova Scotia.

Services and infrastructure
Passenger lounge under construction

While owned by the town of Port Hawksbury the airport has been operated under contract by Celtic Air Services starting July 2017.[4] At the same time the Canada Flight Supplement still shows the Municipality of Port Hawkesbury as the operator and has not updated the name.[1] Services offered at the airport include aircraft parking and towing, aircraft servicing including fuel air conditioning, lavatory service, ground power and cabin grooming.[5] The airport also provides an air conditioned executive lounge opened in 2018.[6]

History

The airport is funded jointly by the Town of Port Hawkesbury, the Municipality of the County of Inverness and the Municipality of the County of Richmond.

Starting in 2011 the airport began to benefit from increased use due to flights arriving to access the new Cabot Links and then Cabot Cliffs golf course in Inverness. Flight volume increased a reported 4,000 percent over the first six years, which in turn lead to contracting out the operations of the airport to Celtic Air Services in July 2017.[7]

In December 2017 Port Hawkesbury town council, voted unanimously to rename the airport after Allan J. MacEachen,[8] the former Deputy Prime Minister and MP for Inverness—Richmond and later Cape Breton Highlands—Canso.

In May 2018 Airshow Cape Breton was held at the airport, and featured the Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds.[9]

In June 2019, the Federal government indicated that funding would possibly be made available to build a private airfield at Cabot Links. Both the Mayor of Port Hawkesbury and the airport operator raised concern that such an investment would jeopardize the operating of the airport,[10] and that the airport could not survive if it lost the current private jet traffic to a new airport.[11] Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Stephen McNeil to reconsider funding the project, stating that "two airports within an hour’s drive just doesn’t make sustainable economic sense."[12]

References
  1. Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
  2. Synoptic/Metstat Station Information
  3. "BAN Handbook - Airport - Allan J. MacEachen Port Hawkesbury Airport". Business Air News. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  4. "Celtic Air to take over operation of Port Hawkesbury Airport | CTV News Atlantic". atlantic.ctvnews.ca. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  5. "Aircraft Services". Celtic Air Services. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  6. "Catering to jet set crowd at Port Hawkesbury airport | Cape Breton Post". www.capebretonpost.com. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  7. Higgins, Hal (11 July 2017). "Port Hawkesbury Airport upgrades to help with 4,000% flight increase". CBC News. Retrieved 19 Jun 2019.
  8. "Port Hawkesbury votes to rename airport after MacEachen | CTV News Atlantic". atlantic.ctvnews.ca. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  9. Eventbu.com. "Airshow Cape Breton | event | Port Hastings". Eventbu.com. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  10. "Officials at Allan J MacEachen Port Hawkesbury Airport concerned of Possible Airstrip near Cabot Links". 989 XFM. 2019-06-10. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  11. Martin, Wendy (13 June 2019). "Political dispute brews over proposed airport near Cape Breton golf hub". CBC News. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  12. "Rumours swirl about possible federal money for Inverness airport | The Chronicle Herald". www.thechronicleherald.ca. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
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