Edmonton City Centre Airport

Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport Edmonton City Centre Airport
File:YXDLogo.svg
City Centre Airport control tower
IATA: YXD ICAO: CYXD YXD Location of YXD in Edmonton
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	City of Edmonton
Operator	Edmonton Airports
Serves	Edmonton, Alberta
Elevation AMSL	2,202 ft / 671 m
Coordinates	53°34′21″N 113°31′14″W
Website	www.edmontonairports.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 12/30 5,868 1,789 Asphalt 16/34 5,700 1,737 Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft Movements 71,620
Sources: Canada Flight Supplement Edmonton Airports Movements from Statistics Canada

Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport, (IATA: YXD, ICAO: CYXD), is located within the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is bordered by Yellowhead Trail to the north, Kingsway to the south, 121 Street to the west, and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) to the east. It encompasses approximately 144 acres (58 ha) of land just north of the Edmonton city centre. The airport is named for the former mayor Kenneth Alexander Blatchford. Before being named Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA), it was known as the Edmonton Municipal Airport.

History

The airport has a rich aviation history, being the first licensed airfield in Canada (1929). Characters such as Wop May helped pioneer aviation in Alberta and Northern Canada, further solidifying Blatchford Field as the "Gateway to the North". Wiley Post landed there during both of his circumnavigations. The airport was also a major stop-over on the Northwest Staging Route during World War II and hosted a wartime British Commonwealth Air Training Plan flying school and an air observer school. A full history can be gathered at the Alberta Aviation Museum.

A weather station was established in 1937. Over the years since then, its site has witnessed increasing influence by the urban heat island effect. By the mid-1970s, "Edmonton Municipal A." (as listed in the Monthly Record of Meteorological Observations in Canada) was regularly recording some of the longest frost-free periods in the Prairie Provinces with the first fall frost often not coming before October.

The ECCA has been embroiled in a fierce debate for several decades. In the 1950s, the need for a longer set of runways to accommodate the larger aircraft on the horizon was clear. With no ability to expand CYXD, the search was on for a new site. Despite the military base at Namao (now CFB Edmonton), just north of the city, built by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in World War II and expanded to handle SAC in the 1950s with the largest runway in Canada, the current site for the Edmonton International Airport (CYEG) was chosen at Leduc, over 40 km (25 mi) from downtown Edmonton. Upon completion of the international airport in 1963, CYXD was to close. After being examined by consultants, and with the unforeseen development of Regional Passenger Service, especially to Calgary, it was decided by the City of Edmonton to keep CYXD open, and entered Edmonton into a 30+ year airport debate that has shaped logistics, transportation, and regional disparity issues ever since.

Several types of jet passenger aircraft did use CYXD, notably the Boeing 737-200, which was designed from the -100 specifically for this airport. These were initially operated by Pacific Western Airlines and its later incarnation Canadian Airlines from their initial purchase in the late 1960s up until consolidation. The runway lengths are based on the absolute maximum performance characteristics and weight of this airliner; however, the extreme wear caused by utilising this field and pushing these limits was a concern. Other jet service came in the form of the BAe 146 as an Air Canada connector flight operated by Air BC. DC-9s in Air Canada livery operated briefly out of YXD in the early 1980s but left due to field/weight limitations. Time Air and its later brand of Canadian Regional operated Fokker F28s and Echo Bay Mines Limited operated a private 727-100 from the field for several years. However, the demands for ever increasing range and the increased weight and runway length requirements for the next generation aircraft in these series made their use at CYXD economically and in the many cases physically impossible.

In the 1992 municipal election, the City of Edmonton held a plebiscite with the question of "Are you in favour of bylaw No. 10,205, The Edmonton Municipal Airport Referendum bylaw?". This bylaw kept CYXD open to all traffic that the field could legally handle; 54% approved. In the 1995 election, a second plebiscite was put forth to the citizens of Edmonton asking if the bylaw should be repealed on the basis of consolidating all scheduled traffic at CYEG. A determination of whether to close the airport was not an option. 77% of voters approved this version, and in June 1996, the consolidation process was finalized.

Overlay of the Edmonton Indy track on an airport map.

Currently, CYXD remains open as per the lease with the City of Edmonton. There are small passenger airlines that can utilize the facility. These airlines, however, are not allowed transport more than 10 passengers and are restricted to which destinations they can serve - primarily destinations north of the city.

From 2005 on, the airport has annually been converted into a speedway for the Edmonton Grand Prix Champ Car race. Due to Champ Car merging with the Indy Racing League, the IndyCar Series now races there.

Edmonton City Centre Airport is a major airport for air charter, emergency medical transport, and supply gateway to the north.

Amenities

For private and corporate aviation, there are two Fixed base operators (FBO) on site, located on the west side of the airfield off Taxiway A. Additional on-site amenities include the Alberta Aviation Museum, two hotels, and a cafeteria in the Edmonton Flying Club's building.

Close to the field is shopping at Kingsway Mall, Canadian Tire, the Chateau Louis (hotel), the Alberta and Edmonton office for St. John Ambulance, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), and the Via Rail train station to the north (off Bush Pilot Road).

Private air ambulances use the Esso Avatat hangar to store their ground support units. A STARS air ambulance is also based at the airport. Proximity to the Royal Alexandra Hospital provides a link for emergency medical access by air to many of Alberta's rural communities.

The airport's proximity to downtown Edmonton makes it popular for business travellers as well.

Airfield

Due to its location in the central portion of the city, there are both curfew restrictions and noise abatement procedures. The field maintains 24 X 7 operations, with the strictest noise regulations in effect from 22:00h to 07:00h local time. More information can be garnered from Edmonton Airports or from NAV CANADA.

The runways are placed in an intersecting "V" configuration, with the intersection near the displaced thresholds of runways 34 and 30. There is one CAT 1 Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach on runway 34, and a LOC BC Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) approach for Runway 16. Runway 12/30 is visual with the approach aid being Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) (12) or Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) (30).

Frequencies are :

• Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) 125.400
• Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) 128.625
• Clearance/Delivery 121.300
• Ground 121.900
• Control tower 119.100
• Edmonton Radio 126.700
• Departure
  • North 119.500
  • South 133.650
• Arrivals
  • North 119.500
  • South 120.500
• Terminal
  • North 119.500
  • South 127.400

Economic impact

The ECCA employs roughly 1,000 people and adds $18 million in tax revenues for the city of Edmonton. It generated $4.6 million in direct revenue for Edmonton Airports, with expenses of $3.9 million.

Future plans

On July 8, 2009, the city council decided on a phased closure of the airport. The north-south runway will be closed as soon as possible and current licenses for scheduled air service will not be renewed. Closure of the remaining runway will be announced at a future date. The eastern side of the airport is expected to be transferred to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology while the remainder will be a mixed-use business and residential development.

In September 2009, the city council postponed the closure of the north-south runway until after the Indy and Airfest events of 2010.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Airco Aircraft Charters Ltd	Grande Prairie
Air Mikisew	Fort McMurray
Connect Air	Calgary, Fort McMurray, Fort Nelson
Empire Airlines	Slave Lake
Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter	Calgary
North Cariboo Air	Bonnyville, Calgary, Peace River
Northern Air	Peace River
Transport Canada	Fort Smith, Whitehorse

Flight schools

• Centennial Flight Centre
• Edmonton Flying Club

See also

• List of airports in the Edmonton area

External links

• Edmonton City Centre Airport
• From Cow Pasture to Airport - Real Estate Weekly article
• Nav Canada's Aerodrome Chart (PDF)
• Page about this airport on COPA's Places to Fly airport directory
• Past three hours METARs, SPECI and current TAFs for Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport from Nav Canada as available.