Aviation
Monthly Aircraft Movements: Small airports - Airports without NAV CANADA Towers or Flight Service Stations, July 2017

Analysis

Take-offs and landings at 127 Canadian airports without air traffic control towers reached a total of 74,833 movements in July. Ten airports accounted for 40% of the month’s activity: Peterborough, Ontario (7,116 movements), Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador (3,272), Drummondville, Quebec (3,137), Quesnel, British Columbia (2,921), Sherbrooke, Quebec (2,501), Barrie-Orillia-Lake Simcoe Regional, Ontario (2,411), Trois-Rivières, Quebec (2,190), Red Lake, Ontario (2,179), Pickle Lake, Ontario (2,053) and Muskoka, Ontario (1,967).  

Total aircraft movements for the 117 airports for which year-over-year comparisons were possible increased 14%, from 64,215 to 73,355 in July 2017, as 71 airports reported more movements. The largest increases were recorded at the following airports: Quesnel (+2,519 movements), Drummondville (+1,655) and Sherbrooke (+1,448). In early July, a series of wildfires began across British Columbia. In response, the province declared a state of emergency, issued evacuation orders and deployed aircraft to several regions to assist in the fire suppression activities. In Quesnel, traffic at the airport rose sharply (+627%) as a large camp was established at the airport to support aircraft and crew engaged in fighting wildfires in the surrounding area.  Among those airports with decreases, the largest declines were reported at Trois-Rivières (-1,122) and Tillsonburg, Ontario (-895).

In July 2017, there were 55,406 itinerant movements (flights from one airport to another) reported by 108 airports, with Goose Bay (3,272 movements) and Quesnel (2,889) recording the largest numbers.

Fifty-three airports reported 16,962 local movements (flights that remain in the vicinity of the airport). Peterborough remained the most active site with 6,261 take-offs and landings, representing 37% of the total local movements reported.

Factors which may have influenced the data

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 following 12 airports reported by the Kativik Regional Government in Quebec:

• Akulivik
• Aupaluk
• Inukjuak
• Ivujivik
• Kangiqsualujjuaq
• Kangiqsujuaq
• Kangirsuk
• Puvirnituq
• Quaqtaq
• Salluit
• Tasiujaq
• Umiujaq

3. Aggregate data only are available for Tillsonburg, Ontario.

4. When comparing monthly data for current year versus previous year, please note that:

a) Data for the following airports were included in the report for July 2016 but were not available at the time of the release of this report.

Coral Harbour, Nunavut
Elliot Lake Municipal, Ontario
Sanikiluaq, Nunavut

b) Data for the following airports were included in July 2017 but not in July 2016.

Clyde River, Nunavut
Gjoa Haven, Nunavut
Grise Fiord, Nunavut
Igloolik, Nunavut
Kugluktuk, Nunavut
Pikwitonei, Manitoba
Puvirnituq, Quebec
Quataq, Quebec
Salluit, Quebec
Tasiujaq, Quebec