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90-454: Calgary International Airport ( IATA : YYC , ICAO : CYYC ), branded as YYC Calgary International Airport , is an international airport that serves the city of Calgary , Alberta , Canada. It is located approximately 17 kilometres (11 mi) northeast of downtown and covers an area of 20.82 square kilometres (8.04 sq mi; 5,144 acres; 2,082 ha). With 18.5 million passengers in 2023 and 124,108 aircraft movements in 2021, Calgary International

180-491: A $ 20-million passenger terminal within five years; however, continued delays pushed completion of the terminal to 1977. Construction began on the new passenger terminal in 1972, construction would be delayed due to re-designs to meet increased air traffic needs, causing the price of the new terminal to grow well beyond the original $ 20-million figure. Finally, on 12 October 1977, the new $ 130-million (equivalent to $ 1,006-million in 2023), 600,000 square feet (56,000 m) terminal

270-545: A base of operations at Calgary International, occupying an expanded area of the terminal. The airline's first flight, a Boeing 737 departed Calgary International on route to Vancouver International Airport on 29 February 1996. During the September 11, 2001 attacks 13 international flights destined for the United States were diverted to Calgary International Airport as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon . The operation

360-419: A community centre (The Landing) as well as Bowness High School and Bowglen Park. Operations shifted to a new airport southwest of the city in 1928, named Old Banff Coach Road Airport ( 51°02′55.7″N 114°09′09.8″W  /  51.048806°N 114.152722°W  / 51.048806; -114.152722 ). However, issues with turbulence in the area prompted another airfield to be built the following year in

450-493: A few hundred combinations; a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other. Since the U.S. Navy reserved "N" codes, and to prevent confusion with Federal Communications Commission broadcast call signs , which begin with "W" or "K", the airports of certain U.S. cities whose name begins with one of these letters had to adopt "irregular" airport codes: This practice

540-475: A hailstorm damaged the airport and numerous WestJet aircraft, but there were no injuries. While the other damaged areas of the airport were repaired promptly, Concourse B and its gates (gates 31-40) will be closed for at least 18 months, but this will not impact airport operations. The Calgary International Airport houses two passenger terminals, one for domestic flights and the other for United States and international flights . The four-storey Domestic Terminal

630-483: A later date was a major issue during the 2010 Calgary municipal election . The Airport Authority addressed cargo capacity through the construction of a 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m) cargo facility in 2015 followed by a 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m) facility constructed in 2016. The final stage of the Calgary Airport Authority's Airport Development Program was the construction of

720-404: A new air traffic control tower at the southern end of Aero Drive. The control tower when completed was 44 metres (144 ft) tall with 38 square metres (410 sq ft) of office room, and was designed with the knowledge that it would not provide the necessary line of sight to the expanded east airfield. In February 1996, WestJet , which began as a low-cost carrier began operations with

810-429: A new $ 1.6-billion (equivalent to $ 1.96-billion) international terminal. Officially opened on 31 October 2016, the international terminal 186,000 square metres (2,000,000 sq ft) facility added 24 new aircraft gates , North America's first call-to-gate passenger boarding system, CATSA Plus enhanced passenger screening system, moving walkways and electric concourse connection tram system. The international terminal

900-567: A new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new "major" airport (or the only remaining airport) code to no longer correspond with the city's name. The original airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration and called Berry Field with the designation, BNA. A new facility known as Nashville International Airport was built in 1987 but still uses BNA. This

990-534: A new longer runway has been installed through the middle of the triangle. The site now operates as the Airdrie Airport . The secondary relief landing field (R2) for No.3 SFTS was located near the community of Inverlake, Alberta. In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed at 51°03′N 113°37′W  /  51.050°N 113.617°W  / 51.050; -113.617 with a Var. 23.5 degrees E and elevation of 3,300 feet (1,006 m). The aerodrome

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1080-419: A number of changes to airport operations in the 2000s to improve the efficiency and capacity of the facility, but by 2008, with a number of changes made, NAV Canada reported the airfield would begin to exceed its practical capacity. The Calgary Airport Authority planned and under the "Airport Development Program", a major development program aimed at improving the capacity and quality of the airport, which included

1170-451: A number of other dignitaries. The festivities included an air show featuring an Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck . Following construction of the new passenger terminal, McCall Field would see 110,984 passenger arrivals, 96,287 departures and nearly 1,000,000 pounds (450,000 kg) of cargo through the airport in 1957. In the 1960s Calgary City Council began lobbying the federal government to designate McCall Field as an "international airport",

1260-472: A status defined by the Department of Transportation. As a compromise on 6 April 1962, the federal government approved naming the airport terminal Calgary International Airport from Calgary Municipal Airport. However, Mayor Harry Hays , local aldermen and residents continued to refer to the airport in general as McCall Field. Calgary International Airport did not receive official "International" status from

1350-401: A triangle rather than the typical three runways formed in a triangle. In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed at 51°01′N 114°08′W  /  51.017°N 114.133°W  / 51.017; -114.133 with a Var. 24 degrees E and elevation of 3,675 feet (1,120 m). Six runways were listed as follows: The primary relief landing field (R1) for No.3 SFTS was located near

1440-509: Is GSN and its IATA code is SPN, and some coincide with IATA codes of non-U.S. airports. Canada's unusual codes—which bear little to no similarity with any conventional abbreviation to the city's name—such as YUL in Montréal , and YYZ in Toronto , originated from the two-letter codes used to identify weather reporting stations in the 1930s. The letters preceding the two-letter code follow

1530-519: Is a 10-storey, 318 room hotel located in the international passenger terminal was opened On 1 September 2016. The Delta Hotels by Marriott Calgary Airport In-Terminal located across Airport Road from the domestic passenger terminal. At 91 metres (299 ft), the airport's air traffic control tower was the tallest standalone control tower in Canada upon its opening in 2013; compared to the previous tower, it has space for more air traffic controllers and

1620-523: Is different from the name in English, yet the airport code represents only the English name. Examples include: Due to scarcity of codes, some airports are given codes with letters not found in their names: The use of 'X' as a filler letter is a practice to create three-letter identifiers when more straightforward options were unavailable: Some airports in the United States retained their NWS ( National Weather Service ) codes and simply appended an X at

1710-513: Is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion that seem to apply in the United States, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Thus, Washington, D.C. area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington–Dulles , DCA for Washington–Reagan (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore–Washington International, formerly BAL). Since HOU

1800-543: Is not followed outside the United States: In addition, since three letter codes starting with Q are widely used in radio communication, cities whose name begins with "Q" also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of: IATA codes should not be confused with the FAA identifiers of U.S. airports. Most FAA identifiers agree with the corresponding IATA codes, but some do not, such as Saipan , whose FAA identifier

1890-505: Is now the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). As one of the largest wireless training schools, it trained thousands of radio operators. The flying squadron of No.2 WS operated from an aerodrome located near the community of Shepard, Alberta. The airborne portion of wireless operator training was conducted in de Havilland Tiger Moths , Fleet Forts and North American Harvards . In approximately 1942

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1980-425: Is situated closer to the centre of the airport, giving controllers better views of the airfield. Meanwhile, the headquarters of WestJet and its subsidiary WestJet Encore are located onsite. In 2019, YYC Calgary International Airport was again the fourth-busiest airport in Canada in terms of the total number of passengers served, which was almost 18 million. This was another record year in passenger volume, surpassing

2070-708: Is the busiest airport in Alberta and the fourth-busiest in Canada by passenger traffic. This airport is served by the Calgary International Airport Emergency Response Service for aircraft rescue and firefighting protection. The region's petroleum and tourism industries (and its proximity to Banff National Park ) have helped foster growth at the airport, which has nonstop flights to an array of destinations in North and Central America, Europe, and Asia. Calgary serves as

2160-416: Is used for William P. Hobby Airport , the new Houston–Intercontinental became IAH. The code BKK was originally assigned to Bangkok–Don Mueang and was later transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport , while the former adopted DMK. The code ISK was originally assigned to Gandhinagar Airport (Nashik's old airport) and later on transferred to Ozar Airport (Nashik's current airport). Shanghai–Hongqiao retained

2250-554: The COVID-19 pandemic , the governments of Alberta and Canada announced a new program to enable certain travellers to enter Canada more easily. Canadian citizens and essential workers entering Canada at Calgary, as well as at the Sweetgrass–Coutts Border Crossing , can be tested for the virus and, if they test negative, will be allowed to quarantine for only 48 hours instead of the usual 14 days. On August 5, 2024,

2340-571: The Canadian transcontinental railroads were built, each station was assigned its own two-letter Morse code : When the Canadian government established airports, it used the existing railway codes for them as well. If the airport had a weather station, authorities added a "Y" to the front of the code, meaning "Yes" to indicate it had a weather station or some other letter to indicate it did not. When international codes were created in cooperation with

2430-467: The Government of Alberta acquired ownership of Pacific Western Airlines , Canada's third largest airline at the time and move the head office and hub to Calgary. The airline continued under provincial government ownership until 1983, and later merged with Canadian Pacific Air Lines to form Canadian Airlines . Canadian Airlines maintained Calgary as the hub and headquarters for the airline until it

2520-653: The Hawker Hurricane . No. 1 (F) Squadron was renumbered to 401 Squadron when it was posted overseas for combat duty. During the Second World War , the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) established No. 3 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) at the airfield. Aircraft flown at this school were Avro Ansons and Cessna Cranes . No. 3 SFTS closed on September 28, 1945. After the war, No. 10 Repair Depot

2610-500: The architectural firm Clayton, Bond and Mogridge, which was awarded the contract for designing the new terminal. The one-million dollar project featured an open public concourse , and ticketing offices for three airlines was dubbed one of the most modern air terminals in Canada when it opened on 2 June 1956. A lavish opening ceremony was attended by federal Transportation Minister George C. Marler , Lieutenant Governor of Alberta John J. Bowlen , and Mayor Donald Hugh Mackay , and

2700-481: The list of Amtrak station codes . Airport codes arose out of the convenience that the practice brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, and the use of two letters allowed only

2790-643: The preclearance facility . The Domestic Terminal is connected to the International Terminal by a 620-metre walkway corridor and path for the YYC Link Passengers Shuttles; twenty ten-seat electric vehicles used to transport connecting passengers. WestJet, headquartered in Calgary and for which Calgary is the hub, has criticized the design of the international terminal, which opened in 2016. The airline's CEO stated that

Calgary International Airport - Misplaced Pages Continue

2880-549: The BCATP in 1942. Pilots in training flew Airspeed Oxfords , Avro Ansons and Cessna Cranes . The school closed on March 10, 1944. An original BCATP building is used by the Calgary Aerospace Museum . The airfield was one of the few double-sided aerodromes built for wartime training with six parallel runways formed in a triangle rather than the typical three runways formed in a triangle. In approximately 1942

2970-536: The Calgary Airport's north–south runway and the runway at CFB Namao . The re-purposed military hangars did not meet the needs of the growing transportation needs of the city, and efforts were made by city officials to secure funding for a new passenger terminal. A new passenger terminal was constructed in 1956; its design originated in the 1950s as a thesis project by Provincial Institute of Technology and Art architecture student Ken Bond, who later formed

3060-509: The Calgary airport handled a total of 147,000 tonnes (144,678 tons) of cargo. In 2011, Calgary International Airport received the Air Cargo World Award of Excellence for airports between 100,000 and 199,999 cargo tonnage, having the highest score for Canadian airports, and second highest for North-American airports. Calgary International Airport has two hotels located on site. The Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel

3150-523: The IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA provides codes for airport handling entities, and for certain railway stations. Alphabetical lists of airports sorted by IATA code are available. A list of railway station codes , shared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak , SNCF , and Deutsche Bahn , is available. However, many railway administrations have their own list of codes for their stations, such as

3240-663: The Rutledge Hangar was taken over by the Edmonton Credit Corporation who subsequently lease the hangar to the City of Calgary. The RCAF used the airport in the 1940s. The Rutledge Hangar remains standing at the original Renfew site by Boys and Girls Club of Calgary and was designated an Alberta Provincial Historic Resource on 5 May 2003. As the City of Calgary grew to surround the Renfrew airport site

3330-629: The U.S. For example, several airports in Alaska have scheduled commercial service, such as Stebbins and Nanwalek , which use FAA codes instead of ICAO codes. Thus, neither system completely includes all airports with scheduled service. Some airports are identified in colloquial speech by their IATA code. Examples include LAX and JFK . Calgary air force stations Several air force stations and other establishments, many of them training facilities, operated in Calgary , Alberta , Canada, from

3420-481: The United States, because "Y" was seldom used in the United States, Canada simply used the weather station codes for its airports, changing the "Y" to a "Z" if it conflicted with an airport code already in use. The result is that most major Canadian airport codes start with "Y" followed by two letters in the city's name (for example, YOW for O tta w a , YWG for W innipe g , YYC for C algar y , or YVR for V ancouve r ), whereas other Canadian airports append

3510-481: The a hangar as a passenger terminal, and convinced the federal government to extend the airports 4,125 ft (1,257 m) east–west runway to 6,200 feet (1,900 m) in October 1949 at an estimated cost of $ 750,000 the construction required a 5 foot (1.5 m) excavation below grade to prevent frost heaving . At the time of completion, McCall Field's east–west runway was the third-longest runway in Alberta behind

3600-512: The aerodrome was listed at 50°57′N 113°58′W  /  50.950°N 113.967°W  / 50.950; -113.967 with a Var. 23.5 degrees E and elevation of 3,400 feet (1,036 m). The aerodrome was listed with three runways as follows: Runway 16/34 was used as a dragstrip from the 1960s to 1983 under the name Calgary International Raceway . The last vestiges of the field in Shepard disappeared in 2001 when an industrial park

3690-415: The aerodrome was listed at 51°06′N 114°01′W  /  51.100°N 114.017°W  / 51.100; -114.017 with a Var. 24 degrees E and elevation of 3,545 feet (1,081 m). Six runways were listed as follows: No. 2 Wireless School was a BCATP radio operator school. It opened on September 16, 1940, and was located at the old Alberta Provincial Institute of Technology and Art, which

Calgary International Airport - Misplaced Pages Continue

3780-440: The airport itself instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself which can be used to search for flights to any of its airports. For instance: Or using a code for the city in one of the major airports and then assigning another code to another airport: When different cities with the same name each have an airport, they need to be assigned different codes. Examples include: Sometimes,

3870-418: The airport's former name, such as Orlando International Airport 's MCO (for Mc C o y Air Force Base), or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport , which is coded ORD for its original name: Or char d Field. In rare cases, the code comes from the airport's unofficial name, such as Kahului Airport 's OGG (for local aviation pioneer Jimmy H ogg ). In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after

3960-452: The airport's runways were not suitable for the larger and faster aircraft. In 1961 the airport replaced the diagonal runway with an 8,000 feet (2,400 m) runway capable of handling modern jet aircraft. In 1963 the airport underwent a $ 4-million refurbishment which saw improved electronic landing aids, and the main north–south runway extended by 4,675 feet (1,425 m) to its present length of 12,675 feet (3,863 m). The City of Calgary

4050-502: The code SHA, while the newer Shanghai–Pudong adopted PVG. The opposite was true for Berlin : the airport Berlin–Tegel used the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin–Schönefeld used SXF; the Berlin Brandenburg Airport has the airport code BER, which is also part of its branding. The airports of Hamburg (HAM) and Hannover (HAJ) are less than 100 nautical miles (190 km) apart and therefore share

4140-454: The community of Airdrie, Alberta. In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed at 51°16′N 113°56′W  /  51.267°N 113.933°W  / 51.267; -113.933 with a Var. 24 degrees E and elevation of 3,650 feet (1,113 m). The aerodrome was listed with three runways as follows: A survey of google maps on 12 Jun 2018 shows a clear outline of the former relief airfield. The BCATP runways are all now abandoned and

4230-443: The construction of a new runway, air traffic control tower and passenger terminal. On 25 May 2013, the new Air Traffic Control Tower opened at Calgary International Airport. The one-year, $ 25-million (equivalent to $ 32-million) project came in advance of the airport's new runway, and at 91 m (300 ft), the tower was the tallest free-standing control tower in Canada. The airport's previous 50 m (165 ft) control tower

4320-411: The construction of three runways and other improvements, the first of which opened on 25 September. The new Calgary airfield was named McCall Field after First World War ace and lifelong Calgarian Fred McCall . As a result of Canada entering the Second World War , the federal government assumed control of McCall Field in 1940, re-purposing it as a fuel and maintenance stop for aircraft involved in

4410-415: The distance between the terminals was too long for connecting travellers and that YYC Link was insufficient to solve this problem. As a result, WestJet had to alter its schedules in order to allow additional time for passengers transiting through Calgary. The Calgary Airport Authority responded that it did not see issues with the connections process, although it said passengers would need some time to adjust to

4500-934: The end. Examples include: A lot of minor airfields without scheduled passenger traffic have ICAO codes but not IATA codes, since the four letter codes allow more number of codes, and IATA codes are mainly used for passenger services such as tickets, and ICAO codes by pilots. In the US, such airfields use FAA codes instead of ICAO. There are airports with scheduled service for which there are ICAO codes but not IATA codes, such as Nkhotakota Airport/Tangole Airport in Malawi or Chōfu Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are also several minor airports in Russia (e.g., Omsukchan Airport ) which lack IATA codes and instead use internal Russian codes for booking. Flights to these airports cannot be booked through

4590-400: The federal government until 1969. The first non-stop transatlantic flights were scheduled by Canadian Pacific Airlines in 1961, connecting Calgary with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , and more flights from Europe commenced the following year. The jet age arrived shortly after the construction of Calgary's new passenger terminal. The terminal was not designed with jet aircraft in mind, and

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4680-475: The federal government. Close to the airport are the Deerfoot Trail and Stoney Trail freeways for transport into the city and surrounding area, and public transit also serves the airport. The first airport to serve Calgary opened in 1914, in the neighbourhood of Bowness . It occupied one-square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) and consisted of a hut and a grass runway. The site is now the location of

4770-453: The federal government. The Calgary Airport Authority, incorporated in July 1990 is a non-share capital , not-for-profit corporation formed under the authority of Alberta's Regional Airports Authorities Act . The Calgary Airport Authority signed a long-term 60-year lease with an additional 20-year option , which was subsequently exercised in 2011. In 1992, Calgary International Airport opened

4860-557: The first three letters of the city in which it is located, for instance: The code may also be a combination of the letters in its name, such as: Sometimes the airport code reflects pronunciation, rather than spelling, namely: For many reasons, some airport codes do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and therefore, use codes derived from some of their letters, resulting in: Other airports—particularly those serving cities with multiple airports—have codes derived from

4950-498: The first time in 1973, with Wardair providing non-stop bi-weekly charter service from Calgary to London . Air Canada was not far behind, and began non-stop service to London using the 747 starting on 27 June 1974. In April 1974, Calgary International Airport hosted CP Air's flight testing for the Boeing 747 after airport firefighters went on strike at both Vancouver International Airport and Toronto Pearson Airport . In 1974

5040-425: The following format: Most large airports in Canada have codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian (for example, YUM for Yuma, Arizona , and YNT for Yantai , China), and not all Canadian airports start with the letter "Y" (for example, ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick ). Many Canadian airports have a code that starts with W, X or Z, but none of these are major airports. When

5130-597: The form of " YYZ ", a song by the rock band Rush , which utilizes the Morse code signal as a musical motif. Some airports have started using their IATA codes as brand names , such as Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Numerous New Zealand airports use codes that contain the letter Z, to distinguish them from similar airport names in other countries. Examples include HLZ for Hamilton , ZQN for Queenstown , and WSZ for Westport . Predominantly, airport codes are named after

5220-424: The headquarters and primary hub for WestJet . Built in the late 1930s, the site has since grown to house: 71 gates at minimum (depending on airplane type), three runways and two terminal buildings with six concourses for passengers (Gates A1-6, A12-24, B31-40, C50-65, D70-79 and E80-97), warehouses for cargo handling, and other infrastructure. The Calgary Airport Authority operates the property while paying rent to

5310-487: The international air booking systems or have international luggage transferred there, and thus, they are booked instead through the airline or a domestic booking system. Several heliports in Greenland have 3-letter codes used internally which might be IATA codes for airports in faraway countries. There are several airports with scheduled service that have not been assigned ICAO codes that do have IATA codes, especially in

5400-728: The mezzanine level contains a food court, airline offices and the airport authority offices. The Domestic Terminal has four concourses: Concourses A1, A2, B, and C. All A, B and C gates are shared between domestic airlines such as Air Canada and Westjet (and their subsidiaries) predominantly, as well as Flair Airlines, Air North, Air Transat and Porter Airlines. Westjet primarily uses A gates, Air Canada flights primarily use C gates, and B gates are used by all airlines. Concourse A1 includes departure gates A1-A6 (used for WestJet regional non-jet flights); Concourse A2 includes gates A11-A24; Concourse B includes departure gates B31-B40; and Concourse C includes departure gates C50-C65. The International Terminal

5490-439: The mezzanine level contains the international departures lounges. The International Terminal includes gates 70 through 97 shared across two concourses: Concourse D for all flights to and from foreign countries except the US as well as domestic flights; and Concourse E for flights to and from the United States. For the International Terminal, passengers travelling to the United States clear customs and immigration prior to departure at

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5580-760: The mid-1930s to the mid-1960s. In 1935 the RCAF constructed a landing field on a section of the Canadian Army 's Currie Barracks located in southwest Calgary. The airfield was known as Currie Field or the Calgary Military Airport. In 1938, the aerodrome was home to two RCAF squadrons: No. 3 (Bomber) Squadron with the Westland Wapiti and No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron with the Armstrong Whitworth Siskin and later,

5670-415: The municipal government decided to relocate the airport to a new location. The city purchased an area of land north of Calgary in 1938 for about $ 31,000; and remains the site of Calgary's current airport. The city came to an agreement with Trans-Canada Air Lines to construct and lease a hangar on the site for $ 45,000 (equivalent to $ 918,117 in 2023), and the federal Department of Transportation financed

5760-612: The name of the airport itself, for instance: This is also true with some cities with a single airport (even if there is more than one airport in the metropolitan area of said city), such as BDL for Hartford, Connecticut 's B ra dl ey International Airport or Baltimore's BWI, for B altimore/ W ashington I nternational Airport ; however, the latter also serves Washington, D.C. , alongside Dulles International Airport (IAD, for I nternational A irport D ulles) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA, for D istrict of C olumbia A irport). The code also sometimes comes from

5850-549: The needs of the city, and was inadequate for expansion or facilitating jet aircraft servicing. Following the sale of the Calgary International Airport by the City of Calgary to the Government of Canada in 1966, plans were put in motion to build a new passenger terminal. The airport's sale came with a promise by Federal Transportation Minister Jack Pickersgill that the federal government would build

5940-623: The neighbourhood of Renfrew known as the Calgary Municipal Airport or Stanley Jones Airport . The local airline Renfew Air Service constructed the Rutledge Hangar at the Renfrew site (6th Street and Regal Crescent) in 1929, a lamella arch structure composed of Douglas Fir planks on a reinforced concrete base. The Renfew Air Service folded in November 1931 as a result of the Great Depression , and ownership of

6030-403: The new facilities. Calgary International Airport consists of two north–south parallel runways and one intersecting runway. The parallel runways are 17R/35L (west) which is generally used for aircraft arriving and departing to the west, and 17L/35R (east) which is generally used for aircraft arriving and departing to the east. During the winter months in Calgary, cold arctic air will move in from

6120-435: The north which means aircraft will primarily depart and arrive on north-facing runways (35R and 35L), while the summer months with warm winds from the south, aircraft will primarily take-off and land on south-facing runways (17R and 17L). The diagonal runway 11/29 is generally used when crosswinds are present, which commonly occurs in the summer when westerly Chinooks roll into Calgary, or when extreme wind conditions prohibit

6210-416: The one they are located in: Other airport codes are of obscure origin, and each has its own peculiarities: In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata 's KIJ , Nanchang 's KHN and Pyongyang 's FNJ . EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg , which serves three countries, has three airport codes: BSL, MLH, EAP. Some cities have a name in their respective language which

6300-406: The previous record set in 2018 by 3.54%. Calgary International Airport passenger and cargo volumes since 2010 are provided in the following table: Deerfoot Trail provides freeway access to the rest of the city. There is also a tunnel beneath Runway 17L/35R that links the east side of the airport site to the terminal buildings. Two parking garages and a rental-car facility are situated across from

6390-415: The runway, a $ 295-million (equivalent to $ 370-million), 620 m (2,030 ft), six-lane roadway tunnel was constructed underneath the runway to connect Barlow Trail to 36th Street N.E. and now, to the edge of the city at the major freeway of Stoney Trail, Calgary's "Ring Road." The decision for Calgary City Council on whether to construct the tunnel while the runway was being constructed, or wait until

6480-506: The same first and middle letters, indicating that this rule might be followed only in Germany. Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, even after having undergone an official name/spelling/transliteration change: Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, often with a military heritage. These include: Some airports are named for an administrative division or nearby city, rather than

6570-500: The station code of Malton, Mississauga , where it is located). YUL is used for Montréal–Trudeau (UL was the ID code for the beacon in the city of Kirkland , now the location of Montréal–Trudeau). While these codes make it difficult for the public to associate them with a particular Canadian city, some codes have become popular in usage despite their cryptic nature, particularly at the largest airports. Toronto's code has entered pop culture in

6660-559: The terminals. Public transport options are also available at the airport: Buses operated by Calgary Transit link YYC Calgary International to downtown, a nearby station of the local CTrain light-rail network, and other parts of the city. IATA airport code The assignment of these codes is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by the IATA's headquarters in Montreal , Canada. The codes are published semi-annually in

6750-515: The two-letter code of the radio beacons that were the closest to the actual airport, such as YQX in Gander or YXS in Prince George . Four of the ten provincial capital airports in Canada have ended up with codes beginning with YY, including: Canada's largest airport is YYZ for Toronto Pearson (as YTZ was already allocated to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , the airport was given

6840-409: The use of the parallel runways. The former fourth and smallest runway, 08/26, was almost exclusively used by light aircraft and the general aviation sector, and as of October 3, 2024, has been officially redesignated as a taxiway. Calgary International Airport's three runways are as follows. with the following dimensions: The longest runway in Canada at the time of its 2014 opening, Runway 17L/35R

6930-575: The war effort and later stationing the No. 37 Service Flying Training School at the airfield from 22 October 1941 until its closure on 10 March 1944. McCall Field continued to operate regular passenger flights during the Second World War. Following the end of the Second World War, the airport had been expanded to include additional hangars, four runways and other infrastructure. The City of Calgary resumed management of McCall Field in 1946, repurposed

7020-410: Was a joint effort between NAV Canada and Transport Canada in communication with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration , which facilitated the grounding of potentially destructive air traffic. The Calgary Airport Authority began analyzing the facility's air capacity in the late 1990s, and found the airport could reach its maximum capacity as early as 2006. The Airport Authority and NAV Canada made

7110-506: Was acquired by Air Canada in 2001. In the early 1990s, the Government of Canada introduced the National Airports Policy which moved towards privatization, liberalization and economic deregulation of air transportation, which included the formation of a local airport authority under the name Calgary Airport Authority in 1992 for the management, operation and development of the Calgary International Airport under lease from

7200-664: Was built to reduce congestion and better accommodate larger, heavier aircraft: the weight of such aircraft, combined with the low air density resulting from the airport's high elevation and temperatures during the summer , means that a longer runway is necessary for take-off. Runway 17L/35R is also layered with concrete, a material more durable than the asphalt that composes the airport's other runways. The airport has allotted an extensive amount of area for cargo operations, including over 3,000,000 square feet (280,000 m) of warehouse space. Freight airlines such as Cargolux make regular trips to Europe, Asia, and other destinations. In 2017,

7290-542: Was demolished in October 2014. The Calgary Airport Authority initiated the Parallel Runway Project, a $ 620-million (equivalent to $ 778-million) project to assess and construct a new runway, which led to the construction of the 14,000 feet (4,300 m) runway 17L/35R beginning in April 2011. Upon its completion on 28 June 2014, runway 17L/35R became the longest runway in Canada . During the construction of

7380-437: Was designed with several sustainable principles including 581 geothermal wells for heating and cooling, and an annual rainwater capture capacity of 800,000 litres (180,000 imp gal). In October 2016, Transport Canada officially renamed Calgary International Airport to "YYC Calgary International Airport", affixing the "YYC" IATA code to the airport's name. In 2020, after several months of travel restrictions due to

7470-468: Was listed as a turf, triangular all way field with three runways as follows: No. 37 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) was a Second World War Royal Air Force (RAF) flying school located at McCall Field, which is now Calgary International Airport in northeast Calgary. The school opened on October 22, 1941. Like all RAF schools in Canada during this time, No. 37 SFTS was subject to RCAF administrative and operational control and formally became part of

7560-463: Was located at the station until 1947 when No. 25 Air Materiel Base Calgary was formed. The base was renamed RCAF Station Lincoln Park . Among the station's functions, Lincoln Park was a training centre for NATO pilots. This training facility closed in 1958 and the station became an emergency landing field. RCAF Station Lincoln Park was closed in 1964, but portions of the base were retained to house military families. The former hangar line at Lincoln Park

7650-420: Was opened by Mayor Rod Sykes , Provincial Transportation Minister Hugh Horner , and Federal Transportation Minister Otto Lang two months before construction had completed. Sykes was able to leverage his friendship with Lord Mountbatten to convince British Airways to have one of the newly introduced Concorde land in Calgary on the day, and although the jet showed up a day late due to mechanical issues, it

7740-435: Was originally opened in 1977 and has undergone a number of renovations in the decades following. The ground level of the terminal serves as the arrivals area with baggage claim and transportation facilities present. The second level of the terminal serves as the departures level and includes airport check-in , security and access to departure gates. The basement level of the airport contains utilities and tenant storage while

7830-453: Was originally opened on 31 October 2016 and consists of five levels; utilities and baggage processing in the basement. Arrivals meet and greet areas, Canada Customs and relevant infrastructure on the ground level with departure check-in, security, US customs and the international departures concourse being located on the second floor. The third level contains the USA departures concourse and finally,

7920-512: Was still quite the coup for a city of less than half a million residents. Among other festivities for the opening event included flyovers by a Boeing 747 , Lockheed F-104 Starfighter , and the Canadian Air Force Snowbirds . The 1977 passenger terminal remains the core of Calgary International Airport's domestic terminal to this day. The Jumbo Jet age arrived in Calgary with the newly introduced Boeing 747 landing for

8010-430: Was taken over by the various Army field units garrisoned at CFB Calgary . The remaining property was sold to ATCO , the City of Calgary and Mount Royal College . The main campus of Mount Royal University now occupies a section of the old aerodrome while the old hangars are occupied by various businesses. The airfield was one of the few double-sided aerodromes built for wartime training with six parallel runways formed in

8100-484: Was unable to afford the continued upgrades the Calgary Municipal Airport necessary to cope with the rising aircraft traffic. The city proceeded to sell the Calgary Municipal Airport to the federal government in 1966 for $ 2 million, and the Department of Transportation proceeded to refurbish the runways shortly afterwards. The new passenger terminal constructed in 1956 proved to only temporarily meet

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