Airport type Public Hub for Island Express Air Elevation AMSL 194 ft / 59 m Elevation 59 m Province British Columbia | Owner/Operator City of Abbotsford Time zone PST (UTC−08:00) Code YXX Phone +1 604-855-1001 | |
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Location Abbotsford, British Columbia Address 30440 Liberator Ave, Abbotsford, BC V2T 6H5, Canada Profiles | ||
Abbotsford international airport your gateway to beautiful british columbia
Abbotsford International Airport (IATA: YXX, ICAO: CYXX) is located in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, 2.2 nautical miles (4.1 km; 2.5 mi) southwest of the city centre. It is the second largest airport in the Lower Mainland, after Vancouver International Airport (YVR), and is in close proximity to British Columbia Highway 1, and the US border. It is located about 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Surrey city centre and 65 kilometres (40 mi) from downtown Vancouver.
Contents
- Abbotsford international airport your gateway to beautiful british columbia
- Abbotsford international airport spotting
- History
- Airshow
- Public transit
- References
YXX offers daily domestic scheduled services and seasonal international scheduled services. The airport is equipped with a CAT 1 Instrument Landing System, on-site aircraft rescue and firefighting, and a fully serviced Air Terminal Building with customs and passenger screening. It is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for all scheduled international arrivals. CBSA also provides clearance services to all general aviation aircraft with no more than 15 passengers
Abbotsford Airport has a longstanding general aviation community and an established aerospace community, including Cascade Aerospace, the Conair Group, and the University of the Fraser Valley Aerospace Centre.
Abbotsford Airport is also home to the Abbotsford Shell Aerocentre FBO and flying schools, such as Coastal Pacific Aviation and Chinook Helicopters. YXX is highly visible to the public due to the Abbotsford International Airshow, Defense & Security Expo, and Tradex events centre.
There are approximately 87 hectares (210 acres) hectares (215 acres) of land immediately available for airside and groundside development. 503,693 passengers passed through Abbotsford International Airport in 2008. and 477,087 in 2014.
Abbotsford international airport spotting
History
The Royal Canadian Air Force purchased the land to build Abbotsford Airport in 1940. In 1943 the construction of the three runways based on a triangular layout (5,100 by 200 ft (1,554 by 61 m) wide) were complete. The same year, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the No. 24 Elementary Flying Training School started operations from this location until 1944. The No 5 Operational Conversion Unit was split between Abbotsford and Boundary Bay Airport.
Following World War II, the airport was largely used for general aviation and as a secondary field to Vancouver International Airport. Prior to the use of instrument landing systems, fog could make Vancouver unusable and flights had to land at Abbotsford.
The airport became the home to Skyways Air Services and Conair Aviation in the 1960s. Abbotsford is still the primary base for Conair's fleet of water bombers.
In September 1984 Pope John Paul II held an open-air mass for over 200,000 people at the airport.
On January 1, 1997 the ownership of the Abbotsford Airport was transferred from the Department of Transport to the City of Abbotsford for a sum of $10. In June of that year, Abbotsford became a jet passenger airport in with the start of scheduled service to Alberta by WestJet. Prior, Airspeed Aviation had been the exclusive operator offering regional service to Victoria, B.C. since 1986. Canada 3000 was the first airline to offer transcontinental service from Abbotsford to Toronto in June 2000. Abbotsford's first international charter flight was to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in December 2003 by tour operator Transat Holidays.
Since 2000 many airlines and tour operators have come and gone from Abbotsford, including Air Canada, Air Canada Tango, Air Canada Jazz, Air North, Canada 3000, Central Mountain Air, Helijet, Jetsgo, Signature Vacations, Zoom Airlines, Harmony Airways, Peace Air and ZIP Air.
In 2010, a new parallel taxiway was added alongside runway 07/25, and the main airport apron was extended. An aircraft run-up bay that can accommodate up to three medium weight category aircraft at the same time was added near the Cascade Aerospace hangar.
Airshow
Since 1962, the airport has hosted the annual Abbotsford International Airshow usually held the second weekend in August. Designated as Canada's national airshow in the mid 1970s by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, it is Canada's largest airshow as well as one of North America's largest airshows. It has been listed as one of the ten best airshows in the world. it draws airplane enthusiasts from all over Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The static displays allow people to get up close to many of the exhibits while numerous performances decorate the skies above. The International Council of Airshows awarded a Silver Pinnacle Award to the airshow in 2014.
Public transit
The airport is serviced by Central Fraser Valley Route 21, which connect Aldergrove and Abbotsford with Bourquin Exchange in Abbotsford. Airport bus services on these routes are limited on peak hours.