Abbotsford International Airport
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| Abbotsford International Airport | |||
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| IATA: YXX – ICAO: CYXX | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | City of Abbotsford | ||
| Location | Abbotsford, British Columbia | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 194 ft / 59 m | ||
| Coordinates | 49°01′31″N 122°21′38″W / 49.02528°N 122.36056°WCoordinates: 49°01′31″N 122°21′38″W / 49.02528°N 122.36056°W | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 07/25 | 9,597 | 2,925 | Asphalt/Concrete |
| 01/19 | 5,268 | 1,606 | Asphalt |
| 01A/19A | 1,500 | 457 | Turf |
| Statistics (2008) | |||
| Aircraft Movements | 156,883 | ||
| Passengers | 503,693 | ||
| Sources: Canada Flight Supplement[1] Statistics from Transport Canada.[2] Passengers from Abbotsford Airport[3] |
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Abbotsford International Airport (IATA: YXX, ICAO: CYXX) is located in the City of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, 2.2 NM (4.1 km; 2.5 mi) southwest of the city centre.
The airport is classified as an airport of entry by NAV CANADA and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency. CBSA officers at this airport currently can handle general aviation aircraft only with no more than 15 passengers[1]
The airport is the second largest airport in the Lower Mainland after Vancouver International Airport (YVR), is the only other airport to host major airlines and functions as a reliever for YVR. Otherwise, the Abbotsford airport caters mostly to the general aviation community.
In 2008, YXX was Canada's 12th busiest airport by aircraft movements, with 156,883 movements,[2] and a total of 503,693 passengers passed through Abbotsford International Airport.[3]
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[edit] History
Constructed as a British Commonwealth Air Training Plan airport. No. 24 Elementary Flying Training School operated from this location. No 5 Operational Conversion Unit was split between Abbotsford and Boundary Bay Airport.
Following World War II, the airport was largely used for general aviation and as a secondary field to Vancouver International Airport. Prior to the use of instrument landing systems, fog could make Vancouver unusable and flights had to land at Abbotsford.
The airport became the home to Skyways Air Services and Conair Aviation in the 1960s. Abbotsford is still the primary base for Conair's fleet of water bombers.
Abbotsford became a jet passenger airport in June 1997 with the start of scheduled service to Alberta by WestJet. Prior, Airspeed Aviation had been the exclusive operator offering regional service to Victoria, B.C. since 1986. Canada 3000 was the first airline to offer trans-continental service from Abbotsford to Toronto in June 2000. Abbotsford's first international charter flight was to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in December 2003 by tour operator Transat Holidays.
Since 2000 many airlines and tour operators have come and gone from Abbotsford, including Air Canada, Air Canada Tango, Air Canada Jazz, Air North, Canada 3000, Central Mountain Air, Helijet, Jetsgo, Signature Vacations, Zoom Airlines, Harmony Airways, Peace Air and ZIP Air.
[edit] Airshow
It is also known for hosting the annual Abbotsford International Airshow held in August. As one of Canadas largest airshows, it draws airplane enthusiasts from all over Western Canada and Northwestern United States. One of the fantastic points to this airshow is the static display, which allows people to get up close and personal with many of the exhibitors and of course having their pictures taken with any plane they are allowed to be close to. This feature outweighs the Toronto Airshow, as the participants to this event are either parked at Pearson International Airport or Toronto Island Airport. As well, Abbotsford draws a finer selection of planes than Toronto. http://www.abbotsfordairshow.com/
[edit] Airlines, tour operators and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Orca Airways | Victoria |
| Transat Holidays | Puerto Vallarta [Seasonal] |
| WestJet | Calgary, Edmonton, Puerto Vallarta [seasonal; starts November 7][4] |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 7 May 2009 to 0901Z 2 July 2009
- ^ a b Total aircraft movements by class of operation — NAV CANADA towers
- ^ a b Abbotsford Airport Passenger Numbers Remain Strong in 2008
- ^ http://c5dsp.westjet.com/guest/destinations/ourDestinations.jsp
[edit] External links
- Official Abbotsford Airport Website
- Page about this airport on COPA's Places to Fly airport directory
- Past three hours METARs, SPECI and current TAFs for Abbotsford International Airport from NAV CANADA as available.
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