Sault Ste. Marie Airport

Not to be confused with Sault Ste. Marie Municipal Airport.
Sault Ste. Marie Airport
IATA: YAM – ICAO: CYAM
– WMO: 71260
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Sault Ste. Marie Airport Development Corporation
Location Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Time zone EST (UTC−05:00)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−04:00)
Elevation AMSL 632 ft / 193 m
Coordinates 46°29′06″N 084°30′34″W / 46.48500°N 84.50944°WCoordinates: 46°29′06″N 084°30′34″W / 46.48500°N 84.50944°W
Website www.saultairport.com
Map
CYAM

Location in Ontario

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
04/22 6,000 1,829 Asphalt
12/30 6,000 1,829 Asphalt
Statistics (2012)
Number of Passengers 187,554 Increase 53.7%
Aircraft movements 65,941 Increase 36.7%
Sources: Canada Flight Supplement[1]
Environment Canada[2]
Movements from Statistics Canada[3]
Movements & Passengers from Sault Ste.Marie Economic Development Corporation[4]

Sault Ste. Marie Airport, (IATA: YAM, ICAO: CYAM), is an international airport located 8.0 nautical miles (14.8 km; 9.2 mi) west-southwest of the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada at the far eastern end of Lake Superior and the beginning of the St. Mary's River.

History

The Canadian government opened the airport in 1961 and operated it until 1998, when it handed control over to the newly formed Sault Ste. Marie Airport Development Corporation (SSMADC) under the terms of the National Airports Policy. Of the 23 Ontario regional, local, or small airports handed over under the policy, the Sault Ste. Marie airport is the only one not affiliated with a municipality, since the city of Sault Ste. Marie declined to assume control.[5] In 2002, the SSMADC opened Runway Park, an entertainment and recreation area, on unused airport property to help generate revenue to support the airport's operation.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations
Air Canada Express Toronto–Pearson
Bearskin Airlines Sudbury, Thunder Bay
Porter Airlines Toronto–Billy Bishop
Sunwing Airlines Seasonal: Varadero

Cargo airlines

Airlines Destinations
FedEx Express operated by Morningstar Air Express Sudbury, Toronto

Operations

The Sault Ste. Marie airport has equipment to support instrument approaches for all-weather operation, as well as a Nav Canada control tower. Currently, Porter airlines operates 4 daily roundtrip flights to Toronto via Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport during weekdays and two daily flights during the weekend. Air Canada Express opearated by Jazz Air currently flies to Toronto Pearson International Airport 6 times daily using both Bombardier Dash 8-100 and Q400 aircraft which is the newest edition to the Air Canada Express fleet. Seasonal winter charters operate utilizing primarily Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Its runways are designed to handle medium-sized transport jets such as the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737; current operations to Sault Ste. Marie consist of turboprop, Bombardier Dash 8 and Boeing 737 aircraft.

In 2010, the airport ranked 34th among Canadian airports for total number of aircraft movements (landing or taking off), with 51,279 movements.[3] In 2012, the airport increased aircraft movements up 37.6 percent to 65,941, and total passengers were up 53.7 percent to 187,554.[4] These increases were attributed to the addition of Porter Airlines service to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, as well as seasonal carriers Sunwing Airlines, and Air Transat.

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 aircraft with no more than 30 passengers.[1]

The airport saw a record number of passengers travel in 2014 increasing 4.4 percent from the 2013 level to reach the new record level of 195,080 passengers.[6]

General aviation operations

The airport hosts the flight-training campus for Sault College as well as the Soo Aviation flying school, resulting in frequent training flights in the vicinity. In addition to these, the Sault Ste. Marie airport has frequent medevac, business aviation, and charter operations. It is a frequent stopping point for private pilots.

Ministry of Natural Resources Fire Management & Flight Training Centre

Sault Ste. Marie Airport is also home to the Ministry of Natural Resources Fire Management Centre and Flight Training Centre. The 622-square-metre facility is the first of its kind in Ontario. It is equipped with one of the most advanced flight training devices available, which simulates the sights, sounds and motions of the CL-415 water bomber aircraft used to fight forest fires in Ontario.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 24 July 2014 to 0901Z 18 September 2014
  2. ↑ Synoptic/Metstat Station Information
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Total aircraft movements by class of operation — NAV CANADA towers
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sault Ste. Marie Airport Development Corporation carries out strategic planning session
  5. ↑ Sault Ste. Marie Airport: About the Airport
  6. ↑ http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/details.asp?c=85036
  7. ↑ Ministry of Natural Resources Press Release

External links