Calgary International Airport in Alberta Alberta airports - Calgary International Airport
Calgary International Airport in Alberta - Canada
Alberta Airports
Canadian Airports
World Airports
Airport photos
Aircraft photos
Spacecraft photos
Earth from airplane
Earth from space
Aviation Articles
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). Calgary International is the busiest airport in the province of Alberta, fourth-busiest airport in Canada by passenger traffic and aircraft movements, with 16.27 million passengers and 233,017 movements in 2017. The region’s oil, gas, and tourism industries have helped foster growth at the airport, which has nonstop flights to an array of destinations in North America, Central America, Europe, and Asia. YYC Calgary International is also a hub for two major Canadian airlines, Air Canada and WestJet.

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.

YYC Calgary International Airport
Aéroport international de Calgary YYC
YYC logo.svg
Calgary Airport overview.jpg
  • IATA: YYC
  • ICAO: CYYC
  • WMO: 71877
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Transport Canada
Operator Calgary Airport Authority
Serves Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Hub for
  • Air Canada
  • WestJet
Time zone MST (UTC−07:00)
• Summer (DST) MDT (UTC−06:00)
Elevation AMSL 3,606 ft / 1,099 m
Coordinates 51°07′21″N
114°00′48″W
Website www.yyc.com
Map
YYC is located in Alberta

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 (2017)
Passengers 16,275,862
Cargo (tonnes) 147,000

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. 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.

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. 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. At the end of the war, the airport had been expanded to include additional hangars and other infrastructure. City officials resumed managing the airport and repurposed the new hangars as a passenger terminal. An improved terminal opened in 1956, and the airport was named McCall Field after World War I ace and lifelong Calgarian Fred McCall afterward.

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. 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». Eleven years later, it constructed a new terminal worth $130 million.

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. Four years later, WestJet began operations with a base at the airport, occupying an expanded area of the terminal. Another runway was inaugurated in 2014, and a new international terminal opened in 2016 at a cost of $1.6 billion, adding 24 gates. «YYC», the IATA code for the Calgary airport, was also affixed to the airport’s official name following a successful branding effort.

Infrastructure

Passenger terminals

Calgary International Airport
Calgary International Airport. Concourse E of the new international terminal.


Calgary International Airport
Calgary International Airport. Inside the domestic terminal.


Calgary International Airport
Calgary International Airport. WestJet aircraft on Concourse A.

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. Passengers travelling to the United States clear customs and immigration prior to departure at the preclearance facility.

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. 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.

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. 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.

Runways

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

  • 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.

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. 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. Meanwhile, the headquarters of Canadian North as well as WestJet and its subsidiary WestJet Encore are located onsite. There are also two hotels on the airport property.

Airlines and destinations

In 2016, airlines offered nonstop service from Calgary to various destinations in Canada as well as to 45 cities in other countries. WestJet and Air Canada maintain hubs at the airport; they were the busiest airlines in Calgary per the number of seats they offered on flights departing the city: 5,060,000 and 3,380,000, respectively. For comparison, the third-busiest airline by the same measure, United Airlines, provided 390,000 seats. Ultimately, people continuing on to other destinations accounted for over 30% of total passenger traffic at YYC Calgary International.

Besides connecting passengers, travellers taking part in Alberta’s large oil and gas industries fuel growth at the airport. During periods of decline in these sectors of the economy, airlines such as WestJet have had to limit their flights to the city. On the other hand, tourist attractions in the province such as Banff National Park have attracted service as well. Hainan Airlines’ Calgary–Beijing route is an example.

As of January 2018, the following airlines offer scheduled flights to and from Calgary:

Airlines Destinations
Air Canada Frankfurt, London–Heathrow, Los Angeles, Montréal–Trudeau, Newark, Ottawa, Toronto–Pearson, Vancouver
Seasonal: Cancún, Kahului (resumes 28 October 2018), Palm Springs (begins 28 October 2018), Phoenix–Sky Harbor (begins 28 October 2018), Puerto Vallarta (begins 3 November 2018), San José del Cabo, Tokyo–Narita
Air Canada Express Castlegar, Cranbrook, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Houston–Intercontinental, Kamloops, Kelowna, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Nanaimo, Portland (OR), Red Deer (ends 31 October 2018), Regina, San Francisco, Saskatoon, Victoria, Winnipeg, Yellowknife
Seasonal: Comox, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Seattle/Tacoma
Air Canada Rouge Las Vegas
Seasonal: Halifax
Air North Edmonton, Whitehorse
Air Transat Cancún, Puerto Vallarta
Seasonal: Amsterdam, London–Gatwick, Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson, Vancouver
Alaska Airlines Seattle/Tacoma
American Eagle Dallas/Fort Worth
Seasonal: Chicago–O’Hare
British Airways Seasonal: London–Heathrow
Central Mountain Air Edmonton, Lloydminster
Condor Seasonal: Frankfurt
Delta Air Lines Minneapolis/St. Paul
Delta Connection Minneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City, Seattle/Tacoma
Edelweiss Air Seasonal: Zürich
Flair Airlines Abbotsford (begins 28 October 2018), Kelowna, Vancouver, Winnipeg
Frontier Airlines Denver, Las Vegas
Hainan Airlines Beijing–Capital
Integra Air Bonnyville
KLM Amsterdam
Northern Air Peace River, Whitecourt
Sunwing Airlines Seasonal: Cancún, Cayo Coco, Huatulco, Ixtapa–Zihuatanejo, Liberia (CR), Mazatlán, Montego Bay, Puerto Vallarta, Punta Cana, San José del Cabo, Santa Clara, Varadero
United Airlines Chicago–O’Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental
Seasonal: San Francisco
United Express Chicago–O’Hare, Denver, San Francisco
WestJet Abbotsford, Cancún, Comox, Denver, Edmonton, Halifax, Hamilton (ON), Houston–Intercontinental, Kelowna, Kitchener/Waterloo, Las Vegas, London–Gatwick, London (ON), Los Angeles, Mexico City (ends 28 October 2018), 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: Belize City, Fort Lauderdale, Honolulu, Huatulco, Ixtapa–Zihuatanejo, Kahului, Liberia (CR), Loreto, Manzanillo, Mazatlán, Montego Bay (begins 3 November 2018), Nashville, Nassau, Phoenix/Mesa, Québec City, San Francisco, St. John’s, Varadero, Whitehorse, Windsor, Yellowknife
WestJet Encore Abbotsford, Brandon, Comox, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Fort St. John, Grande Prairie, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Penticton, Regina, Saskatoon, Terrace/Kitimat, Vancouver, Victoria
Seasonal: Yellowknife
WestJet Link Cranbrook, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Medicine Hat, Prince George

Statistics

In 2016, YYC Calgary International Airport was the fourth-busiest airport in the nation in terms of the total number of passengers that transited through the airport: about 15.7 million. Despite an ongoing recession, there was a roughly 1.3% increase over 2015. Of the total for 2016, travellers bound for domestic destinations constituted about 71%, and people travelling to the United States and other countries amounted to 29%.

In 2017, YYC Calgary International Airport was again the fourth-busiest airport in Canada in total passenger volume: about 16.3 million, a 3.8% increase, more than double from 2016. This setting another record in passenger volume, surpassing the previous record set in 2016. YYC’s cargo operations grew significantly with more than 147,000 tonnes of cargo moving through the airport, an increase of 7.7 per cent from 2016.

Passenger volumes for the period 2010–2017 are provided in the following table:

Passenger traffic at Calgary International Airport, 2010–2017
Year Passengers Change Notes
2010 12,630,695 NA
2011 12,770,988 +1.1%
2012 13,641,339 +6.8%
2013 14,316,074 +4.9% Became third-busiest airport in Canada for the first time, ahead of Montréal–Trudeau International Airport
2014 15,261,108 +6.6%
2015 15,475,759 +1.4% Again the fourth-busiest airport in the country
2016 15,680,616 +1.3%
2017 16,275,862 +3.8%

Cargo volumes for the period 2011–2017 are provided in the following table:

Cargo traffic at Calgary international airport, 2011–2017
Year Cargo (tonnes) Change
2011 116,000 NA
2012 119,000 +2.6%
2013 122,000 +2.5%
2014 128,710 +5.5%
2015 134,695 +4.6%
2016 137,000 +1.7%
2017 147,000 +7.3%

Ground transportation

Deerfoot Trail provides freeway access to the rest of the city. There is also a tunnel beneath Runway 17L/35R that links the east side of the airport site to the terminal buildings. Two parking garages and a rental-car facility are situated across from the terminals. 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.

Notable accidents and incidents

A West Coast Airlines flight from Spokane to Calgary via Cranbrook made a crash-landing shortly before the runway on 24 August 1963, although no one onboard was killed. A likely cause of the accident is the fact that the Fairchild F-27 was approaching the airport too low.

Another incident occurred on the runway on 22 March 1984, when Pacific Western Airlines Flight 501 attempted to take-off. 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 Boeing 737-200. The pilots aborted take-off and exited the runway onto a taxiway, where flight attendants evacuated all passengers. While some suffered severe injuries, all the occupants survived.

The above content comes from Wikipedia and is published under free licenses – click here to read more.




General Info
Country Canada
ICAO ID CYYC
Latitude 51.113888
51° 06' 50.00" N
Longitude -114.020278
114° 01' 13.00" W
Elevation 3557 feet
1084 meters
Type Civil
Magnetic Variation 016° E (01/06)
Operating Agency MUNICIPAL
Daylight Saving Time Second Sunday in March at 0200 to first Sunday in November at 0200 local time (Exception Arizona and that portion of Indiana in the Eastern Time Zone)


Communications
TWR 118.4
236.6
RMP
Opr 1300-0700Z++.
121.3
260.2
EDMONTON RDO 122.5
126.7
VFR ADVSY SVC 119.4
374.2
GND 121.9
275.8
DEP 119.8
255.1
EDMONTON CNTR 133.3
135.12
243.5
265.6
CLNC DEL
Opr 1300-0700Z++.
121.3
260.2
ATIS 114.8
127.2
ARR 125.9
123.85
283.9
249.9
Communications Remarks
TWR (Emerg only C403-216-7116)


Runways
ID Dimensions Surface PCN ILS
07/25 6200 x 150 feet
1890 x 46 meters
ASPHALT 087FDWT NO
10/28 8000 x 200 feet
2438 x 61 meters
ASPHALT 087FDWT NO
16/34 12675 x 200 feet
3863 x 61 meters
ASPHALT 111FDWT NO


Navaids
Type ID Name Channel Freq Distance From Field Bearing From Navaid
VORTAC YYC CALGARY 114X 116.7 5.2 NM 252.1
NDB ZYC SARCEE - 254 5.0 NM 162.4


Supplies/Equipment
Fuel Jet A1+, Jet A1 with icing inhibitor.

Jet A1, without icing nhibitor.

100/130 MIL Spec, low lead, aviation gasoline (BLUE)

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2018.
We don't guarantee the information is fresh and accurate. The data may be wrong or outdated.
For more up-to-date information please refer to other sources.


















christianity portal
directory of hotels worldwide
 
 

Copyright 2004-2024 © by Airports-Worldwide.com, Vyshenskoho st. 36, Lviv 79010, Ukraine
Legal Disclaimer