Windsor International Airport

Windsor International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerWindsor City Council
OperatorYour Quick Gateway (Windsor) Inc.[1]
ServesDetroit–Windsor
Time zoneEST (UTC−05:00)
 • Summer (DST)EDT (UTC−04:00)
Elevation AMSL622 ft / 190 m
Coordinates42°16′34″N 082°57′19″W / 42.27611°N 82.95528°W / 42.27611; -82.95528
Websitewww.flyyqg.ca
Map
CYQG is located in Ontario
CYQG
CYQG
Location in Ontario
CYQG is located in Canada
CYQG
CYQG
CYQG (Canada)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
07/25 9,000 2,743 Asphalt
12/30 5,150 1,570 Asphalt
Statistics (2018)
Aircraft movements42,700
Passengers330,000

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). CBSA officers at this airport can handle aircraft up to 325 passengers, and can handle up to 450 if the aircraft is unloaded in stages.[2]

History

The airport opened in 1928 as Walker Airport, named after Hiram Walker, a 19th-century whiskey distiller and distributor of the Canadian Club brand.

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, and well expanding beyond its original roots as a mere landing strip.

Recent history

In 2006, Serco Aviation Services, Inc., announced that they would request early termination of their airport management contract with the City of Windsor, 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. On July 1, 2007, Serco handed over operations of the airport to the City of Windsor. Windsor City Council had approved of an ad hoc group to run the airport on behalf of the city, named "Your Quick Gateway (Windsor) Inc." (after the airport's ICAO call letters, YQG). This private organization was 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 reported that since Your Quick Gateway had been so successful in managing the airport, posting a small profit in the process, it would be given permission to operate the facility indefinitely in this manner.

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

Windsor Airport terminal

In 2012, The Windsor Star reported that airport traffic had increased over 160% since 2008, with over 250,000 passengers passing through the airport in 2012, its busiest year ever.[5] This has widely been attributed to aggressive efforts to attract more flights to existing destinations, and to new destinations. In 2011, Porter Airlines began flying from Windsor to Toronto (Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport) and Porter declared that Windsor is one of its most successful new markets. However, 37% of the local market still uses Detroit Metro Airport as its airport of choice.

In early October 2013, the City of Windsor announced it would invest $14.1 million into the airport to create a multi-modal cargo terminal. The project is expected to create approximately 105 jobs for the City of Windsor and has the potential to create thousands of jobs. The first tenant for the new cargo hub at Windsor Airport would be FedEx which signed a 20-year lease to run the hub and it was moved into the facility by December 1, 2015.[6][7] In 2016 the airport handled 331,000 passengers.[8]

In June 2020, Air Canada ended its Windsor to Montreal service due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.[9]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Air Canada Express Toronto–Pearson
Cameron Air Service Seasonal: Pelee Island
Porter Airlines Toronto–Billy Bishop
Sunwing Airlines Seasonal: Cancún, Varadero
WestJet Seasonal: Calgary

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Aeronaves TSM Laredo, Waterloo
SkyLink Express Hamilton (ON)

Tenants

Technical information

Map of the airport

General

  • Latitude/Longitude: 42° 16' 32" N, 82° 57' 20" W
  • Elevation: 622 ft (190 m)
  • Magnetic variation: 7° W

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

  • Runway 07/25: 9,000 by 200 ft (2,743 by 61 m), asphalt, lighted, PAPI type 2 approach lighting for both ends
  • Runway 12/30: 5,150 by 150 ft (1,570 by 46 m), asphalt, lighted, PAPI type 2 approach lighting for both ends

Communications

Fixed-base operator (FBO)

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

  • Great Lakes Flight Centre (Esso Avitat): 122.95 MHz—100LL avgas and Jet-A fuel

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.

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at Windsor International Airport 2013 to 2016
Year Total

passengers

% change
2016[15] 331,478 Increase 20.9%
2015[15] 274,218 Increase 4.1%
2014[16] 263,401 Increase 9%
2013[16] 241,684 Steady

References

  1. ^ "About Us". YQG. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  2. ^ a b Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Synoptic/Metstat Station Information". Archived from the original on 28 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Aircraft movements, by class of operation, airports with NAV CANADA towers". Nav Canada. 19 June 2017. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  5. ^ "Windsor airport traffic increased 160% since 2008". CBC News. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  6. ^ Chen, Dalson (26 August 2014). "Windsor approves builder of $16.8-million cargo hub at airport, with FedEx as tenant". The Windsor Star. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  7. ^ "Cargo hub coming to Windsor airport as part of $19.9M initiative". CTV News. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  8. ^ Growth In Air Traffic Opens New Opportunities In Windsor blackburnews.com. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  9. ^ Evans, Pete (June 30, 2020). "Air Canada cancels 30 domestic routes, closes 8 stations at regional airports". CBC News. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  10. ^ "364 Lancaster Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron". Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  11. ^ "The Windsor Flying Club". Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  12. ^ "Journey Air". Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  13. ^ "Great Lakes Flight Centre". Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  14. ^ "Global Locations - About AAR | AAR Corporate". www.aarcorp.com. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  15. ^ a b Pearson, Craig (2017-04-22). "Windsor Airport traffic takes off with 21 per cent increase". Windsor Star. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  16. ^ a b "Air Carrier Traffic at Canadian Airports" (PDF).
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