Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport[5] (GMIA, French: Aéroport international Roméo-LeBlanc du Grand Moncton[6]) or Moncton/Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport[7] (IATA: YQM, ICAO: CYQM) is located in the city of Dieppe 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) east northeast[1] of downtown Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. Originally named Greater Moncton International Airport, the airport was renamed in 2016, in honour of former Governor GeneralRoméo LeBlanc.[8]
The GMIA handled 674,406 passengers[4] and 122,308 aircraft movements[3] in 2019.
GMIA covers a total land area of 760 hectares (1,878 acres) of airport property.[9]
On January 11, 1928, the first scheduled air flight out of the Greater Moncton area took place. This flight was carrying mail and passengers to the Magdalen Islands. Two sites were considered for the first air strip. Leger's Corner was chosen however because of more favourable landing conditions. Part of this land was donated by Simon B. LeBlanc of Leger's Corner, a developer, land owner and owner of the LeBlanc general store and post office located on the south corner of the now named streets of Acadie Avenue and Champlain Street.
In 1929, a local private company bought the land at Léger's Corner airstrip and through the years two runways were constructed as well as structures for aircraft maintenance. It was also in 1929 that the Moncton Aero Club was founded, as was the International Airways Flying School. These later became the Moncton Flight College, one of the pre-eminent flight schools in Canada. Also in the same year, the airport expanded its air mail service to include Prince Edward Island and Montreal.
In 1936, Transport Canada and the local government discussed the possibility of the construction of an airport suitable for trans-Canadian routes. The Léger's Corner site was unsuitable for expansion and instead they chose a site in nearby Lakeburn as the new site for the airport. A paved runway and two additional dirt landing strips were constructed.
During the 1940s, civilian air services expanded and became available serving Montreal, Halifax, Charlottetown, Sydney, Saint John, Fredericton and Newfoundland. The hangar of Trans-Canada Airlines (later Air Canada), became the location for the first air terminal. In 1952, a larger hangar was converted into a modern air terminal but it was very shortly thereafter destroyed by fire. In 1953, a replacement air terminal was constructed.
Further expansion in 1964 brought many changes to the airport including an air traffic control tower and a new operations building. In 1976, the air terminal was again expanded.
Throughout the years, many renovations have been made to the air terminal building, including in 1998–99, an international arrivals area to suit the needs of 1999's eighth Sommet de la Francophonie. A large landing apron was constructed at the same time at the opposite side of the airport in a location which would later become the site of the new international airport terminal. This landing apron would be pressed into service in a dramatic manner on September 11, 2001, when airspace over North America was shut down following the World Trade Center attacks. A dozen flights with over 2,000 passengers were diverted to the Greater Moncton Airport.
In May 2001, the new, state-of-the-art international air terminal was completed and officially opened in 2002 by Queen Elizabeth II. The Greater Moncton International Airport is the busiest airport in New Brunswick, serving more than 552,629 passengers per year.
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Annual passenger traffic at YQM airport.
See Wikidata query.
On March 24, 2010, a Boeing 727 operated by Cargojet Airways was damaged after its crew was unable to stop on the available landing distance. The aircraft overran the runway and became stuck in deep mud off the end of the runway. None of the crewmembers onboard were injured and the aircraft received minor damage. Investigators found that the presence of standing water on the runway caused the aircraft to hydroplane, causing a loss of directional control and braking ability, significantly increasing the required stopping distance. The reduction of reverse thrust following touchdown to realign with the runway centreline, in accordance with the manufacturer's recommended practice, increased the aircraft's required stopping distance. The crew's decision to fly the instrument approach by hand instead of monitoring an autopilot-coupled approach likely contributed to the aircraft's higher than required airspeed that was maintained until touchdown. The combination of delayed touchdown , a higher-than-required touchdown speed, and standing water on the runway prevented the aircraft from stopping within the available landing distance.[19]
On October 14, 2016, a Beechcraft 1900D operated by Exploits Valley Air Services suffered a hard landing following a steep flare. Though the crew did not notice any damage on their postflight walkaround, the operator's maintenance personnel subsequently discovered that the rear tail strakes had suffered damage from a previous landing. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.[20]
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