Windsor International Airport

Windsor International Airport
IATA: YQG – ICAO: CYQG
– WMO: 71538
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Windsor City Council
Operator Your Quick Gateway, Inc.[1]
Serves Windsor, Ontario
Time zone EST (UTC−05:00)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−04:00)
Elevation AMSL 622 ft / 190 m
Coordinates 42°16′34″N 082°57′19″W / 42.27611°N 82.95528°WCoordinates: 42°16′34″N 082°57′19″W / 42.27611°N 82.95528°W
Website www.yqg.ca
Map
CYQG

Location in Ontario

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
07/25 9,000 2,743 Asphalt
12/30 5,150 1,570 Asphalt
Statistics (2010)
Aircraft movements 25,976
Windsor Airport terminal

Windsor International Airport, (IATA: YQG, ICAO: CYQG), is located in the southeast portion of the city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The airport serves a mixture of scheduled airline flights and general aviation, and is a popular point of entry into Canada for private and business aircraft. The airspace above the airport is exceptionally busy because of the proximity to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) arrivals and departures are handled by Detroit approach control.

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 325 passengers, however they can handle up to 450 if the aircraft is unloaded in stages.[2]

History

The airport originally opened in 1928 as Walker Airport, named after Hiram Walker, a 19th-century whiskey distiller. In 1967, the airport was added to the national portfolio of Canadian Airports, citing its increasing importance as a regional airport hub for Southwestern Ontario, serving the areas between Detroit, Michigan and London, Ontario, rather than being a simple landing strip (as it originally was).

Recent history

Map of the Airport.

In 2006, Serco Aviation Services Inc. announced that was requesting early termination of its contract with the City of Windsor regarding its management of the Airport, as Windsor Airport had been losing around CAD$40,000 per month. The City of Windsor accepted Serco's withdrawal and prepared to operate the airport itself, but with a large deficit. As of July 1, 2007, Serco handed over operations of the airport to the City of Windsor, and ceased to be its operator. The City of Windsor's City Council had approved of an ad hoc group to run the airport on behalf of the city, named "Your Quick Gateway Inc." (after the airport's call letters, YQG). This private organization was originally formed by the Windsor City Council, and was supposed to be a "temporary band-aid solution" until another operator was found. However, on November 14, the Windsor Star had reported that since Your Quick Gateway was so successful in managing the airport (it had managed to pull a small profit in recent months of running Windsor Airport), that it was given permission to run Windsor Airport indefinitely in this manner.

The airport has additional land bounded by farm land along Division Road and Lauzon Parkway for future airport expansion.

In a 2012 article published in the Windsor Star, it was reported that airport traffic had increased over 160% since 2008, with over 250,000 passengers passing through the airport in 2012, their busiest year ever.[5] This has widely been attributed to aggressive efforts to attract more flights to existing destinations, as well as new destinations. Porter Airlines began flying out of Windsor to Toronto Billy Bishop airport in 2011, and the success has been noticeable, with Porter Airlines declaring that Windsor is one of their most successful new markets. However, 37% of the local market still use Detroit Metro Airport as their airport of choice.

In response to the positive reception of Sunwing's flights from Windsor to Varadero, Cuba, Sunwing Airlines announced an additional flight to Santa Clara, Cuba, with a choice of accommodations offered in Cayo Santo Maria. The flights depart on Sundays, starting on December 23, 2012 until April 21, 2013.

In early October 2013 the City of Windsor announced that $12.7 million would be invested into Windsor Airport to create a multi-model cargo terminal. The project is expected to create around 105 jobs for the City of Windsor and has the potential to create thousands of jobs down the road. The first tenant for the new cargo hub at Windsor Airport will be FedEx which signed a 20-year lease to run the hub and is expected to move in some time in 2015.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations
Air Canada Express Toronto–Pearson
Pelee Island Transportation Company Seasonal: Pelee Island
Porter Airlines Toronto–Billy Bishop
Sunwing Airlines Seasonal: Varadero, Santa Clara, Cancun (begins 21 December 2015)
WestJet Seasonal: Calgary

Cargo airlines

Airlines Destinations
SkyLink Express Hamilton (ON)

Tenants

Technical information

General

The airport is operated by Your Quick Gateway on behalf of the City of Windsor, is certified by Transport Canada, and operates as an airport of entry with Canadian customs services available. There is a landing fee for some aircraft.

Runways

Communications

Navigation aids

Fixed base operator (FBO)

Parking is available from the airport operator; there is a charge for parking longer than six hours.

Fire and Rescue

Category 6 ARFF coverage is provided by airport employees. Two E-One ARFF crash vehicles are stationed at the airport firehall. Essex-Windsor EMS provides medical assistance at the airport.

References

  1. ↑ Windsor Airport - Our Story
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 24 July 2014 to 0901Z 18 September 2014
  3. ↑ Synoptic/Metstat Station Information
  4. ↑ Total aircraft movements by class of operation — NAV CANADA towers
  5. ↑ CBCNews September 7 2012
  6. ↑ Air America Logisitics
  7. ↑ Windsor Flying Club
  8. ↑ Journey Air
  9. ↑ Great Lakes Flight Center

External links