Calgary International Airport

Calgary International Airport (IATA: YYC, ICAO: CYYC), branded as YYC Calgary International Airport, is an international airport that serves the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately 17 km (11 mi) northeast of downtown and covers an area of 21.36 km2 (8.25 sq mi).[3] With 17.34 million passengers and 244,027 aircraft movements in 2017, Calgary International is the busiest airport in Alberta and the fourth-busiest in Canada by both measures.[4][5] The region's petroleum and tourism industries have helped foster growth at the airport, which has nonstop flights to an array of destinations in North and Central America, Europe, and Asia. Calgary serves as the headquarters for WestJet and is a hub for Air Canada.[6][7]

YYC Calgary International Airport
Aéroport international de Calgary YYC
  • IATA: YYC
  • ICAO: CYYC
  • WMO: 71877
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerTransport Canada
OperatorCalgary Airport Authority
ServesCalgary, Alberta, Canada
Hub for
Time zoneMST (UTC−07:00)
 • Summer (DST)MDT (UTC−06:00)
Elevation AMSL3,606 ft / 1,099 m
Coordinates51°07′21″N 114°00′48″W
Websitewww.yyc.com
Map
YYC
YYC
YYC
YYC
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
08/26 6,200 1,890 Asphalt
11/29 8,000 2,438 Asphalt
17R/35L 12,675 3,863 Asphalt
17L/35R 14,000 4,267 Concrete
Statistics (2019)
Passengers17,957,780
Passenger change 18–193.5%
Cargo (tonnes)155,820
Cargo change 18–196.7%
Sources: Canada Flight Supplement[1]
Environment Canada[2]

Built in the late 1930s, the site has since grown to house four runways, two terminal buildings with 5 concourses for passengers, warehouses for cargo handling, and other infrastructure. The Calgary Airport Authority operates the property while paying rent to the federal government. Close to the airport is the Deerfoot Trail freeway for transport into the city, and public transit also serves the airport.

History

The first airport to serve Calgary opened in 1914, in the neighbourhood of Bowness. It occupied one square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) and consisted of a hut and a grass runway.[8][9] Operations shifted to a new airport southwest of the city in 1928, named Old Banff Coach Road Airport. However, issues with turbulence in the area prompted another airfield to be built the following year in Renfrew. This site was known as Calgary Municipal Airport.[9]

As the city of Calgary grew in the area surrounding the Renfrew airport, the city government decided to relocate operations another time. It purchased an area of land north of Calgary in 1938 for about $31,000; this is the site of the current airport. It was named McCall Field after World War I ace and lifelong Calgarian Fred McCall.[8][10] Equipped with a paved runway, the airport opened on 25 September of the following year, about two weeks after Canada entered World War II. As a result, the federal government assumed control of the site in 1940, repurposing it as a fuel and maintenance stop for aircraft involved in the war effort. Regular passenger flights continued during this period.[8][9] At the end of the war, the airport had been expanded to include additional hangars and other infrastructure.[8] City officials resumed managing the airport and repurposed the new hangars as a passenger terminal.[9] An improved terminal opened in 1956.[8][9]

Jet aircraft landed at the airport for the first time in 1961, and flights from Europe commenced the following year. The terminal received five expansions; however, the city government eventually did not have the funds to cope with rising traffic.[8][9] It proceeded to sell the site to the federal government in 1966 for $2 million. The new owner refurbished the runways and renamed the site "Calgary International Airport".[8] Eleven years later, it constructed a new terminal worth $130 million–the core of the present facility.[8][9]

The airport again came under local management in 1992 when the Calgary Airport Authority was formed, although the authority still pays rent to the federal government.[8][11] Four years later, WestJet began operations with a base at the airport, occupying an expanded area of the terminal.[9][12] Another runway was inaugurated in 2014,[13] and a new international terminal opened in 2016 at a cost of $1.6 billion, adding 24 gates.[9][14] "YYC", the IATA code for the Calgary airport, was also affixed to the airport's official name following a successful branding effort.[15]

Infrastructure

Passenger terminals
Inside the domestic terminal
Inside the new US and international terminal
Concourse D at Calgary International Airport

The Calgary airport houses two terminals, one for domestic operations and the other for international flights. The domestic terminal itself contains three concourses labelled A, B and C; the international terminal is composed of Concourse E for United States–bound flights and Concourse D for flights to other countries.[16] Passengers travelling to the United States clear customs and immigration prior to departure at the preclearance facility.[17]

The international terminal operates under a call-to-gate system in which passengers wait in a main seating and shopping area; they then proceed to the gate once flight information is posted.[18] The two terminals are connected by both walkways and a separate path for the YYC Link service. Airport employees transport connecting passengers along this corridor in ten-seat vehicles.[14]

WestJet has criticized the design of the international terminal, which opened in 2016. The airline's CEO stated that the distance between the terminals was too long for connecting travellers and that YYC Link was insufficient to solve this problem. As a result, WestJet had to alter its schedules in order to allow additional time for passengers transiting through Calgary.[19][20] The Calgary Airport Authority responded that it did not see issues with the connections process, although it said passengers would need some time to adjust to the new facilities.[19]

Runways

The Calgary airport is equipped with four runways with the following dimensions:[1]

  • Runway 08/26 is 6,200 ft × 150 ft (1,890 m × 46 m)
  • Runway 11/29 is 8,000 ft × 200 ft (2,438 m × 61 m)
  • Runway 17R/35L is 12,675 ft × 200 ft (3,863 m × 61 m)
  • Runway 17L/35R is 14,000 ft × 200 ft (4,267 m × 61 m)

The longest runway in Canada at the time of its 2014 opening, Runway 17L/35R was built to reduce congestion and better accommodate larger, heavier aircraft: the weight of such aircraft, combined with the low air density resulting from the airport's high elevation and temperatures during the summer, means that a longer runway is necessary for take-off. Runway 17L/35R is also layered with concrete, a material more durable than the asphalt that composes the airport's other three runways.[21][22]

Cargo

The airport has allotted an extensive amount of area for cargo operations, including over 3,000,000 sq ft (280,000 m2) of warehouse space. Freight airlines such as Cargolux make regular trips to Europe, Asia, and other destinations.[23][24] In 2017, the Calgary airport handled a total of 147,000 tonnes of cargo.

Other facilities

At 91 m (299 ft), the airport's air traffic control tower was the tallest standalone control tower in Canada upon its opening in 2013; compared to the previous tower, it has space for more air traffic controllers and is situated closer to the centre of the airport, giving controllers better views of the airfield.[25] Meanwhile, the headquarters of WestJet and its subsidiary WestJet Encore are located onsite.[26] There are also two hotels on the airport property.[27]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinationsRefs
Air CanadaCancún, Frankfurt, London–Heathrow, Los Angeles, Montréal–Trudeau, Newark, Ottawa, Toronto–Pearson, Vancouver, Winnipeg
Seasonal: Boston (begins 22 June 2020),[28] Halifax, Kahului, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Puerto Vallarta, San José del Cabo, Tokyo–Narita (resumes 1 July 2020)[29]		[30]
Air Canada ExpressCastlegar, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Houston–Intercontinental, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Portland (OR), Regina, San Francisco, Saskatoon, Terrace/Kitimat, Victoria, Winnipeg, Yellowknife
Seasonal: Comox, Phoenix–Sky Harbor		[30]
Air Canada RougeLas Vegas
Seasonal: Halifax		[31]
Air NorthEdmonton, Whitehorse[32]
Air Transat Seasonal: Cancún, Montréal–Trudeau, Puerto Vallarta, Toronto–Pearson, Vancouver[33]
Alaska AirlinesSeattle/Tacoma[34]
American EagleChicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth[35]
British Airways Seasonal: London–Heathrow[36]
Central Mountain AirEdmonton[37]
CondorSeasonal: Frankfurt[38]
Delta Air LinesMinneapolis/St. Paul
Seasonal: Salt Lake City		[39]
Delta ConnectionMinneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City, Seattle/Tacoma[39]
Edelweiss AirSeasonal: Zurich[40]
EurowingsSeasonal: Frankfurt (begins 1 June 2020)[41]
Flair AirlinesKelowna, Ottawa (begins 17 June 2020),[42] Toronto–Pearson, Vancouver, Winnipeg[43]
Frontier AirlinesDenver[44]
KLMAmsterdam[45]
Northern AirBonnyville[46]
Sunwing AirlinesSeasonal: Cancún, Cayo Coco, Huatulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Liberia (CR), Mazatlán, Montego Bay, Puerto Vallarta, Punta Cana, San José del Cabo, Santa Clara, Varadero[47]
United AirlinesChicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental[48]
United ExpressChicago–O'Hare, Denver, San Francisco[48]
WestJetAbbotsford, Atlanta, Cancún, Comox, Denver, Edmonton, Halifax, Hamilton (ON), Houston–Intercontinental, Kelowna, Kitchener/Waterloo, Las Vegas, London–Gatwick, London (ON), Los Angeles, Mazatlán, Montréal–Trudeau, New York–JFK, Orlando, Ottawa, Palm Springs, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Puerto Vallarta, Regina, San Diego, San José del Cabo, Saskatoon, Toronto–Pearson, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg
Seasonal: Austin, Belize City, Boston (begins 14 May 2020),[49] Charlottetown (begins 25 June 2020),[50] Dublin, Fort Lauderdale, Honolulu, Huatulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Kahului, Liberia (CR), Loreto, Manzanillo, Montego Bay, Nashville, Nassau, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Phoenix/Mesa, Punta Cana, Québec City, Rome–Fiumicino (begins 4 June 2020),[51] San Francisco, St. John's, Varadero, Whitehorse, Windsor		[52]
WestJet EncoreAbbotsford, Brandon, Comox, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Fort St. John, Grande Prairie, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Penticton, Portland (OR), Prince George (resumes 26 April 2020),[53] Regina, Saskatoon, Victoria, Yellowknife [52]
WestJet LinkCranbrook, Dawson Creek (begins 26 April 2020),[53] Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Medicine Hat[52]
The YYC sign

Statistics

In 2019, YYC Calgary International Airport was again the fourth-busiest airport in Canada in terms of the total number of passengers served, which was almost 18 million. This being another record year in passenger volume, surpassing the previous record set in 2018 by 3.54%.[54]

Of the total for 2019, travellers bound for domestic destinations constituted 69.7% of all passenger traffic, while people travelling to the United States amounted to 19.6%, remaining 10.7% was traffic to international destinations, excluding United States.[54]

Concourse E of the new international terminal

YYC's cargo operations grew significantly with 155,820 tonnes of cargo moving through the airport, an increase of 6.7% over the previous year.

Passenger traffic

Passenger volumes for the period 2010–2019 are provided in the following table:[55][56][57]

Passenger traffic at Calgary International Airport, 2010–2019
Year Passengers Change Notes
201012,630,695NA
201112,770,988+1.1%
201213,641,339+6.8%
201314,316,074+4.9%Became third-busiest airport in Canada for the first time, ahead of Montréal–Trudeau International Airport
201415,261,108+6.6%
201515,475,759+1.4%Again the fourth-busiest airport in the country
201615,680,616+1.3%
201716,275,862+3.8%
201817,343,402+6.6%[58]
201917,957,780+3.5%[59]

Cargo traffic

Cargo volumes for the period 2011–2019 are provided in the following table:[60]

Cargo traffic at Calgary international airport, 2011–2019
Year Cargo (tonnes) Change
2011116,000NA
2012119,000+2.6%
2013122,000+2.5%
2014128,710+5.5%
2015134,695+4.6%
2016137,000+1.7%
2017147,000+7.3%
2018146,000−0.7%
2019155,820+6.7%

Top domestic routes
Top domestic routes from Calgary
(As of 23 October 2019)[61]
Rank Destinations Flights Per Week
1 Vancouver (YVR) 220
2 Edmonton (YEG) 175
3 Toronto–Pearson (YYZ) 168
4 Saskatoon (YXE) 91
5 Kelowna (YLW) 90
6 Winnipeg (YWG) 83
7 Regina (YQR) 79
8 Fort McMurray (YMM) 67
9 Grande Prairie (YQU) 64
10 Victoria (YYJ) 62

Ground transportation

Deerfoot Trail provides freeway access to the rest of the city.[62] There is also a tunnel beneath Runway 17L/35R that links the east side of the airport site to the terminal buildings.[63] Two parking garages and a rental-car facility are situated across from the terminals.[16][64] Public transport options are also available at the airport: Buses operated by Calgary Transit link YYC Calgary International to downtown, a nearby station of the local CTrain light-rail network, and other parts of the city.[65][66]

Notable accidents and incidents
  • On August 24, 1963, West Coast Airlines Flight 794, a Fairchild F-27 departing from Spokane International Airport to Calgary via Cranbrook made a crash-landing shortly before the runway. The probable cause of the accident was the pilot failed to maintain the approved minimum altitude on approach. There were no fatalities.[67]
  • On March 22, 1984, Pacific Western Airlines Flight 501, a Boeing 737-200, aborted a take-off and exited the runway onto a taxiway after a component of the left engine broke off and hit the fuel stores in the wing, resulting in a fire that spread over the left and back portions of the plane. The flight attendants evacuated all passengers, while some suffered severe injuries, all the occupants survived.[68][69]
  • On July 17, 1990, an Ecuadorian Air Force de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo (Registration HC-BFH) being ferried to Calgary from Quito, via Billings had the nosegear collapsed following touchdown on runway 28, igniting hydraulic fuel and resulting in the aircraft burning out. There were no fatalities.[70]

See also
  • List of the busiest airports in Canada
  • List of the busiest airports in North America

References
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