Aviation
Annual Aircraft Movements: Small Airports - Airports without NAV CANADA Towers or Flight Service Stations, 2015Aviation
Annual Aircraft Movements: Small Airports - Airports without NAV CANADA Towers or Flight Service Stations, 2015

Analysis

In 2015, the number of take-offs and landings recorded at 132 Canadian airports without air traffic control towers was 626,934 movements.

Five airports recorded more than 20,000 take-offs and landings each. These airports – Peterborough, Ontario (53,380 movements), Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador (31,245), Moosonee, Ontario (25,007), Red Lake, Ontario (23,985) and Comox, British Columbia (21,040) – accounted for 25% of the movements during the year.

There were 473,660 itinerant movements (flights from one airport to another) recorded at 113 airports without air traffic control towers in 2015. Goose Bay, the most active site, represented 6.6% of the total itinerant movements. It reported 31,245 take-offs and landings, a decrease of 2.2% from the figure reported in 2014.

There were 126,109 local movements (flights that remain in the vicinity of the airport) recorded at 70 airports without air traffic control towers in 2015. Peterborough (48,563 movements) reported the greatest number of local movements in 2015.

Note to Readers

1. Aggregate data only are available for the following 19 airports reported by Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation:
   
   
   • Berens River
   • Bloodvein River
   • Brochet
   • Cross Lake
   • God’s Lake Narrows
   • God’s River
   • Ilford
   • Lac Brochet
   • Little Grand Rapids
   • Oxford House
   • Pikwitonei
   • Poplar River
   • Pukatawagan
   • Red Sucker Lake
   • Shamattawa
   • South Indian Lake
   • Tadoule Lake
   • Thicket Portage
   • York Landing
     
     
2. Aggregate data only are available for the 12 airports reported by the Kativik Regional Government in Quebec listed below:
   
   
   • Akulivik
   • Aupaluk
   • Inukjuak
   • Ivujivik
   • Kangiqsualujjuaq
   • Kangiqsujuaq
   • Kangirsuk
   • Puvirnituq
   • Quaqtaq
   • Salluit
   • Tasiujaq
   • Umiujaq
     
     
3. Aggregate data only are available for Tillsonburg, Ontario.
4. As per the November 2015 NAV CANADA Flight Supplement, Repulse Bay (Nunavut) was changed to Naujaat. The community’s name was officially changed on July 1, 2015.
5. In January 2011, the airport at Nanisivik, Nunavut was closed due to cessation of mining operations. A new airport was opened at Arctic Bay, Nunavut.
6. As of March 2014 the following airports began to report data:
   
   
   • Bonaventure, Quebec
   • Isle-aux-Grues, Quebec
   • Kegaska, Quebec
   • La Romaine, Quebec
   • La Tabatière, Quebec
   • Matagami, Quebec
   • Montmagny, Quebec
   • St-Bruno-de-Guigues, Quebec
   • Tête-à-la-Baleine, Quebec

Factors which may have influenced the data

2015

Having already impacted travel at both Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan airports in the U.S. Midwest, a major snowstorm hit central and eastern Canada on December 29^th, 2015 causing delays and cancellations in southern Ontario and western Quebec, including Toronto, Ottawa, and Montréal airports.

On December 1^st, 2015, North Star Air expanded their services in Northern Ontario with the introduction of three new routes. These routes connect a number of smaller communities with Red Lake, Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay. 

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre Inc. reported 6,654 fires covering 3,953,056 hectares as of August 31^st, 2015, more fires and a bit more area than a month earlier. In 2014, the agency had recorded 4,681 fires encompassing 4,549,459 hectares by the end of August.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre Inc. reported 5,766 fires covering 3,889,663 hectares as of July 31^st, 2015. This represents an increase from the previous year when 3,331 fires covering 1,606,278 hectares were recorded. In several cases, particularly in Western Canada, air support was deployed to assist ground crews.

In early July 2015, a rare, lingering fog and thick ice caused major delays in food shipments to Iqaluit, Nunavut. Cargo planes and combo planes (planes that carry cargo and passengers) were not able to fly in or out of Iqaluit Airport.

On July 2^nd, 2015, a new airline codeshare agreement between Calm Air and First Air came into effect for the Kivalliq region.  Under this arrangement, Rankin Inlet, Nunavut replaces Churchill, Manitoba as the main regional hub. In addition, the announcement indicated a reduction in the number of multi-leg flights in the region with more direct flights into Rankin Inlet.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre Inc. reported 4,076 fires covering 1,352,282 hectares as of June 30^th, 2015. This represents an increase from the previous year when 1,977 fires and 414,722 hectares were recorded. In several cases, particularly in Western Canada, air support was deployed to assist ground crews.

Major snowstorms struck Atlantic Canada in mid-March 2015, forcing flight delays and cancellations.

Significant winter storms struck Atlantic Canada in February 2015 forcing numerous flight cancellations and delays. During the same time, eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec recorded colder-than-normal temperatures.

January 2015 was marked by extreme cold, heavy snow and freezing rain conditions across Canada forcing delays and flight cancellations at many airports.

2014

A significant winter storm struck Eastern Canada forcing dozens of flight cancellations and delays at Eastern Canadian airports in March 2014.

A major winter storm with freezing temperatures struck the south-west coast of British Columbia forcing flight cancellations and delays in February 2014.

2013

Significant winter storms struck much of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime provinces forcing flight cancellations and delays across Canada in December 2013.

2012

Significant winter storms struck eastern Canada and the Maritime provinces in December 2012 forcing numerous flight cancellations and delays.

2011

Hurricane Irene struck the northeastern United States and eastern Canada in August 2011 forcing numerous flight delays and cancellations.

Significant winter storms struck the northeastern United States, Atlantic Canada and Britain in January 2011 forcing flight delays and cancellations. These winter storms continued to affect the northeastern United States and eastern Canada in February resulting in further flight delays and cancellations.