Region of Waterloo International Airport
Encyclopedia
Region of Waterloo International Airport or Kitchener/Waterloo Airport is situated near Breslau
, in Woolwich Township
, Waterloo Region
, Ontario
, Canada
.
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 general aviation
aircraft only, with no more than 15 passengers, however they can handle up to 180 people with two hours prior notice.
The terminal building has an international/domestic lounge. There are 4 gates at this terminal to handle scheduled flights. There is a licensed sit down eating area and a vending area for people travelling through the airport.
announced that it would run daily flights to Detroit.
The Kitchener-Waterloo Municipal Airport began construction in 1929 on the Heinrich farm on Lexington Road, what is now Hillside Park. The Towns of Kitchener-Waterloo and Ontario Equitable Life and Accident Insurance Company acquired the lands to build a land and water airport facility. Completed in 1930, the airfield was mainly used for flying instruction school. Gilles Air Service began to operate from the airfield from 1930 to 1932 and was succeeded by Kitchener-Waterloo Flying Club from 1932 to 1951. During World War II
civil aviation ceased at the airfield and was occupied by the Empire Air Training Scheme
. By the end of the War there was a push for a larger and more appropriate place for private and commercial aviation in the area. Established by the Waterloo-Wellington Airport Commission in 1948 and the airport located east to Breslau, Ontario
area and was completed in 1950. The old airport was then sold in 1951 to A.B. Caya and re-developed into a mixed residential and commercial area. Two baseball diamonds occupy the former airport lands. The new K-W Municipal Airport became a general aviation
facility in 1969. From 1951 to 1973 the Waterloo-Wellington Flying Club ran the airport and then sold to Waterloo Region and City of Guelph as publicly owned airport and renamed Waterloo Regional Airport. Today it operates 24 hours and seven days a week.
The former name, Waterloo Regional Airport, is now used by an airport
in Waterloo
, Iowa
.
Currently, there are three commercial airlines serving the area (two year round, one seasonal): WestJet
to Calgary
and Vancouver
, Bearskin Airlines
to Ottawa
and Montreal, and Sunwing
, providing service to Punta Cana
. Mesaba Airlines
, a Northwest Airlines
affiliate suspended service service to Detroit in June 2009.
As of late 2005, major vacation charters (primarily to the Caribbean
) have begun to operate during their peak season.
On 17 January 2007, Westjet
announced new daily seasonal flights to Calgary
. This service started on 14 May 2007. On 27 June 2007, WestJet announced that the flights to Calgary would go year-round.
On 1 October 2007, Bearskin Airlines
started daily non-stop flights to Ottawa
.
On 17 December 2009, WestJet
announced new daily seasonal flights to Vancouver
as part of WestJet's enhanced summer schedule for 2010. Reportedly, the Vancouver flights will not be returning to YKF for the summer 2011.
On March 22, 2011 Bearskin Airlines announced daily non-stop service to Montreal beginning on May 1, 2011
Local taxis, limousines and chartered buses provide ground transportation to and from the airport. Private cars park at 3 parking lots located at the airport.
The main road to access the airport is Regional Road 17 or Fountain Street North. Fountain intersects with Highway 7 to the north (access to Waterloo and Guelph) or with Highway 401 to the south (access to London and Toronto).
There is no public transit access to the airport as the facility is mainly a general aviation facility and located in a rural area.
Grand River Transit
, the public transit operator in the area, does not operate any bus routes to or from the airport.
Breslau, Ontario
Breslau is a community located within the township of Woolwich, part of the Waterloo Regional Municipality in Ontario Canada. Separated from the city of Kitchener by the Grand River, Breslau is named after the former German city of Breslau, now Wrocław, capital of Poland's Lower Silesia.It is...
, in Woolwich Township
Woolwich, Ontario
The Township of Woolwich is a rural township in Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Region of Waterloo, immediately to the north and east of the City of Waterloo. Its 2006 census population was 19,658.-Communities:*Bloomingdale*Breslau*Conestogo*Elmira...
, Waterloo Region
Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is a regional municipality located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, and the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot, and North Dumfries. It is often referred to as the Region of Waterloo or just...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The airport is classified as an airport of entry
Airport of Entry
An airport of entry is an airport that provides customs and immigration services for incoming flights. These services allow the airport to serve as an initial port of entry for foreign visitors arriving in a country.-Africa:-Americas:-Asia:...
by NAV CANADA
NAV CANADA
Nav Canada is a privately run, not-for-profit corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation system .The company employs approximately 2,000 air traffic controllers , 800 flight service specialists and 700 technologists...
and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency
Canada Border Services Agency
The Canada Border Services Agency is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border enforcement, immigration enforcement and customs services....
. CBSA officers at this airport currently can handle general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
aircraft only, with no more than 15 passengers, however they can handle up to 180 people with two hours prior notice.
The terminal building has an international/domestic lounge. There are 4 gates at this terminal to handle scheduled flights. There is a licensed sit down eating area and a vending area for people travelling through the airport.
History
The airport was formerly named Waterloo Regional Airport but it changed its name in March 2004 after Northwest AirlinesNorthwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...
announced that it would run daily flights to Detroit.
The Kitchener-Waterloo Municipal Airport began construction in 1929 on the Heinrich farm on Lexington Road, what is now Hillside Park. The Towns of Kitchener-Waterloo and Ontario Equitable Life and Accident Insurance Company acquired the lands to build a land and water airport facility. Completed in 1930, the airfield was mainly used for flying instruction school. Gilles Air Service began to operate from the airfield from 1930 to 1932 and was succeeded by Kitchener-Waterloo Flying Club from 1932 to 1951. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
civil aviation ceased at the airfield and was occupied by the Empire Air Training Scheme
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme , was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War...
. By the end of the War there was a push for a larger and more appropriate place for private and commercial aviation in the area. Established by the Waterloo-Wellington Airport Commission in 1948 and the airport located east to Breslau, Ontario
Breslau, Ontario
Breslau is a community located within the township of Woolwich, part of the Waterloo Regional Municipality in Ontario Canada. Separated from the city of Kitchener by the Grand River, Breslau is named after the former German city of Breslau, now Wrocław, capital of Poland's Lower Silesia.It is...
area and was completed in 1950. The old airport was then sold in 1951 to A.B. Caya and re-developed into a mixed residential and commercial area. Two baseball diamonds occupy the former airport lands. The new K-W Municipal Airport became a general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
facility in 1969. From 1951 to 1973 the Waterloo-Wellington Flying Club ran the airport and then sold to Waterloo Region and City of Guelph as publicly owned airport and renamed Waterloo Regional Airport. Today it operates 24 hours and seven days a week.
The former name, Waterloo Regional Airport, is now used by an airport
Waterloo Regional Airport
- External links :*, official site*...
in Waterloo
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
.
Expansion
While the airport has relatively little passenger traffic, it is, as of 2010, the 20th busiest airport in Canada by aircraft movements, and underwent a major expansion in 2003. Starting in 2008, the airport started expanding again to accommodate larger aircraft on the aprons and taxiways, this includes widening the main apron 3, expanding apron 2 into apron 3, new widened taxiway alpha and Charlie taxiway off apron 2 to runway 08, and approach lighting on runway 26. In 2010, Taxiway Charlie was widened to prepare for a new development area called "LL4." A new General Manager recruited from the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Chris Wood, was appointed in September 2009.Currently, there are three commercial airlines serving the area (two year round, one seasonal): WestJet
WestJet
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian low-cost carrier that provides scheduled and charter air service to 71 destinations in Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Founded in 1996, WestJet is currently the second largest Canadian air carrier, behind Air Canada, operating an average of...
to Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Bearskin Airlines
Bearskin Airlines
Bearskin Lake Air Services Ltd., trading as Bearskin Airlines, is a regional airline based in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada. It operates services in northern Ontario and Manitoba...
to Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
and Montreal, and Sunwing
Sunwing
Sunwing is a popular children's book written in 1999 by Canadian author Kenneth Oppel. It is the second book in the Silverwing series, preceded by Silverwing and succeeded by Firewing.- Part I :...
, providing service to Punta Cana
Punta Cana
Punta Cana is part of the newly created Punta Cana-Bávaro-Veron-Macao municipal district in La Altagracia, the easternmost province of the Dominican Republic. The area is best known for its beaches and balnearios, which face both the Caribbean and Atlantic, and it has been a popular tourist...
. Mesaba Airlines
Mesaba Airlines
Mesaba Airlines is an American regional airline based in Eagan, Minnesota. The airline operates under Mesaba Aviation, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corporation...
, a Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...
affiliate suspended service service to Detroit in June 2009.
As of late 2005, major vacation charters (primarily to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
) have begun to operate during their peak season.
On 17 January 2007, Westjet
WestJet
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian low-cost carrier that provides scheduled and charter air service to 71 destinations in Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Founded in 1996, WestJet is currently the second largest Canadian air carrier, behind Air Canada, operating an average of...
announced new daily seasonal flights to Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
. This service started on 14 May 2007. On 27 June 2007, WestJet announced that the flights to Calgary would go year-round.
On 1 October 2007, Bearskin Airlines
Bearskin Airlines
Bearskin Lake Air Services Ltd., trading as Bearskin Airlines, is a regional airline based in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada. It operates services in northern Ontario and Manitoba...
started daily non-stop flights to Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
.
On 17 December 2009, WestJet
WestJet
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian low-cost carrier that provides scheduled and charter air service to 71 destinations in Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Founded in 1996, WestJet is currently the second largest Canadian air carrier, behind Air Canada, operating an average of...
announced new daily seasonal flights to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
as part of WestJet's enhanced summer schedule for 2010. Reportedly, the Vancouver flights will not be returning to YKF for the summer 2011.
On March 22, 2011 Bearskin Airlines announced daily non-stop service to Montreal beginning on May 1, 2011
Airlines and destinations
Tenants
- Flightpath Charter Airways - charter and cargo operator
- AirSprintAirSprintAirSprint is a company that offers fractional ownership and management of private business turboprop and jet aircraft. AirSprint Inc. was founded in 2000 as the first Fractional Aircraft Ownership company in Canada by current Chairman and CEO Judson Macor....
- private business jet operator - Kitchener Aero Avionics - manufacturer and maintenance of avionics equipment
- Tri-City Aero - maintenance and repair of small private aircraft
- Reliable Horse Power - Custom aircraft engine overhauls and repairs
- Flite Line Services - FBO, Fuel
- FlightexecFlightexecFlightexec is an executive charter airline, air ambulance, and aircraft management company that has been serving southern Ontario, Canada since 1979.The company's fleet currently consists of:* 1 Cessna Citation XL;* 3 Dassault Falcon 10/100s;...
Jet Centers - Fuel - National Car RentalNational Car RentalNational Car Rental is a rental car company based in Clayton, Missouri. National was founded by 24 independent rental car agents on August 27, 1947...
- Avis Car Rental
- Hertz car rental
- Runways Café at WWFC - licensed restaurant
- Aviator Cafe (by Edelweiss) - licensed food concession in terminal boarding lounge
- Canadian Border Services Agency
Flight training schools
- Adler Aviation - training centre for small propeller aircraft
- Great Lakes Helicopter - small and medium utility helicopter training
- Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre -with links to Conestoga CollegeConestoga CollegeThe Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a public college based in Kitchener, Ontario in Canada.-History:The College was founded in 1967 as the Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology, one of many such institutions established in that time by the Ontario...
and University of WaterlooUniversity of WaterlooThe University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff... - Canadian Academy of Flight
Ground Transportation
The main road to access the airport is Regional Road 17 or Fountain Street North. Fountain intersects with Highway 7 to the north (access to Waterloo and Guelph) or with Highway 401 to the south (access to London and Toronto).
There is no public transit access to the airport as the facility is mainly a general aviation facility and located in a rural area.
Grand River Transit
Grand River Transit
Grand River Transit, or GRT, is the public transport operator for the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It operates daily bus services in the region, primarily in the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge....
, the public transit operator in the area, does not operate any bus routes to or from the airport.