Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport

Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport,[5] (GMIA, French: Aéroport international Roméo-LeBlanc du Grand Moncton[6]) or Moncton/Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport[7] (IATA: YQM, ICAO: CYQM) is located in the city of Dieppe 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) east northeast[1] of downtown Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. Originally named Greater Moncton International Airport, the airport was renamed in 2016, in honour of former Governor General Roméo LeBlanc.[8]

Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport

Aéroport international Roméo-LeBlanc du Grand Moncton

Moncton/Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport
Terminal building
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerTransport Canada
OperatorGreater Moncton International Airport Authority
ServesMoncton, New Brunswick
LocationDieppe, New Brunswick
Time zoneAST (UTC−04:00)
 • Summer (DST)ADT (UTC−03:00)
Elevation AMSL232 ft / 71 m
Coordinates46°06′58″N 064°40′43″W
Websitewww.cyqm.ca
Map
CYQM
CYQM
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
06/24 10,001 3,048 Asphalt
11/29 8,000 2,438 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Aircraft movements122,308
Number of Passengers674,406
Sources: Canada Flight Supplement[1]
Environment Canada[2]
Movements from Statistics Canada[3]
Passenger statistics from Greater Moncton International Airport Authority[4]

The GMIA handled 674,406 passengers[4] and 122,308 aircraft movements[3] in 2019.

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 300 passengers.[9] Nevertheless, planes as large as the 580 passenger Boeing 747 have been handled.[10][11]

GMIA is home to the Moncton Flight College, the largest flight college in Canada.[12]

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 No. 8 Service Flying Training School(SFTF) at the newly developed RCAF Station Moncton 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 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. However, the service between Moncton and Newark was ended on September 19, 2014.

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

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
Air Canada Express Montréal–Trudeau
Air Canada Rouge Toronto–Pearson
Canadian North Charter: Montréal–Trudeau, Quebec City, St. John's, Sydney (NS), Thunder Bay
PAL Airlines St. John's
Porter Airlines Ottawa

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
Cargojet Airways Halifax, Hamilton, Montreal–Mirabel, St.John's
FedEx Express Halifax
UPS Airlines Reykjavík–Keflavík

Statistics

Annual traffic
Annual Passenger Traffic[13]
Year Passengers % Change
2010552,629
2011579,329 4.8%
2012615,085 6.2%
2013647,682 5.3%
2014677,159 4.6%
2015644,275 -4.9%
2016657,272 2%
2017665,630 1.3%
2018681,437 2.4%
2019674,406 1.0%

See also

References
  1. Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
  2. Synoptic/Metstat Station Information Archived 2011-12-01 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Aircraft movements, by class of operation and peak hour and peak day of movements, for airports with NAV CANADA towers, monthly". Stats Canada. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  4. "2019 was a very successful year for YQM!". January 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  5. "Government of Canada renames Greater Moncton International Airport in honour of former Governor General Roméo LeBlanc". Archived from the original on 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
  6. "Le gouvernement du Canada change le nom de l'aéroport international du Grand Moncton pour rendre hommage à l'ancien gouverneur général Roméo LeBlanc". Archived from the original on 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
  8. "History". Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  9. Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport at Canada Border Services Agency
  10. Jumbo jet to service expanded Moncton-Paris flight
  11. "EGM Annual Report 2005-2006" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
  12. "Top Canadian schools join forces". Mount Allison University. 2008-06-02. Archived from the original on 2008-06-05. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  13. Statistics. "Annual Reports". Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport.
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