Halifax International Airport

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Halifax Robert L. Stanfield International Airport^[5], or Halifax International Airport (IATA: YHZ, ICAO: CYHZ) is an airport in Enfield, Nova Scotia, Canada that serves the Halifax Regional Municipality and central Nova Scotia as well as adjacent areas in the neighbouring Maritime provinces.

It is the eighth busiest airport in Canada by passenger traffic, serving nearly 3.4 million passengers in 2006, and the 21st busiest by aircraft movements. Owned by Transport Canada since it was constructed, in 2000 the airport's operation was transferred to the Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA). The airport hosts the headquarters of Air Canada Jazz and Canjet.

In 2006 the airport handled a total of 3,378,601 passengers^[4] and 86,087 aircraft movements.^[3]

[edit] History

[edit] Pre 1960

See also: Saunders Park

An airfield on the Halifax Peninsula operated as the city's main airport until 1942, when it closed. RCAF Station Shearwater functioned as Halifax's primary airport until June 1960, when the current airport was opened.

The airport was moved outside of the city to Goffs in an attempt to reduce delays to flight operations caused by fog.

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[edit] Operation Yellow Ribbon

Halifax International Airport during Operation Yellow Ribbon

On September 11, 2001, Halifax International Airport was part of Operation Yellow Ribbon, as it took 44 flights—more flights than any other Canadian airport involved in the operation—carrying about 7,300 passengers—more passengers than any other Canadian airport involved in the operation other than Vancouver, which registered 8,500. Much of this was because flights that were coming from Europe were told to avoid the major airports in Central Canada, like Toronto Pearson and Montréal-Dorval. [2]

To honour the people of Gander and Halifax for their support during the operation, Lufthansa named a new Airbus A340-300 "Gander-Halifax" on May 16, 2002. That airplane is listed with the registration D-AIFC ([3]), and is the first and sole aircraft of the whole fleet with a city name outside of Germany.

[edit] Renaming

In 2005 the main passenger terminal was renamed in honour of Robert L. Stanfield, the former Premier of Nova Scotia and federal Leader of the Official Opposition, with a plaque placed on the public observation floor. On Friday February 9, 2007 Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived at the airport and officially announced the renaming of the entire facility from 'Halifax International Airport' to 'Halifax Robert L. Stanfield International Airport' in a further honour to Mr. Stanfield; at that time the terminal name was dropped and reverted to its original status.

[edit] Awards

Halifax International Airport fared well in the 2005 AETRA survey for passenger satisfaction, produced by IATA and Airports Council International. Halifax International Airport was ranked the best airport in the Americas for the second year in a row, as well as the best airport in the less than 5 million passengers a year category for the third year in a row (worldwide), and best domestic service for the second year in a row.

In March 2007, Halifax International Airport earned two first-place finishes in the 2006 Airports Council International (ACI) Service Quality Awards held in Dubai, UAE. For the fourth consecutive year, it ranked first in overall passenger satisfaction for airports worldwide with under five million passengers. In addition, the airport ranked first in the Americas in the new category of Airport People Awards, and second in the best domestic airport worldwide category.^[6]

[edit] Airport

[edit] Terminal and renovations

The airport terminal soon after construction. The modern building was one of the first in Nova Scotia to incorporate large glass curtain walls into its design [1].

The airport terminal building at the Halifax International Airport was originally opened in September, 1960. It currently serves around 3.4 million passengers per year and growing. The growth experienced in the decades since the airport's construction necessitated constant renovations, and there is often construction occurring there.

Since 1998, Halifax International Airport has been undergoing an extensive renovation program. The next phase of this program was announced in September 2004. The major multi-year expansion project will include a rehabilitation of the run-ways, new terminal expansions, new parking lots, a new hotel, and internal beautifications including an observation tower. The project will cost over $90 million. The airport has completed an observation tower along with work on aesthetic improvements to the terminals, with work on the parking lot, terminal expansion and runway rehabilitation scheduled for completion in 2008.

In December 2004, U.S. Customs and Border Protection approved Halifax International for U.S. border preclearance. It took effect in late 2006. HIA was previously the busiest airport in Canada without U.S. Customs preclearance.

[edit] Aerotech Business Park

The Halifax International Airport is located adjacent to the Aerotech Business Park, a municipally-run business park originally catering towards aviation companies. The zoning has since been changed to allow for other types of companies to locate there. The two largest tenants are Pratt & Whitney Canada and Northrop Grumman.

[edit] Alternate space shuttle landing site

Halifax International Airport is one of a handful of sites along eastern North America where the space shuttle could land if something went wrong during liftoff.[4]

[edit] Incidents and accidents

• *On October 14, 2004 MK Airlines Flight 1602, Boeing 747-200F a Cargo Flight, Crashed moments after takeoff from Halifax International Airport. 7 People were killed. Link to the Canadian Transportation Safety Board Report

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Passenger

• Air Canada (Bermuda, Boston, Calgary, Cancún, Cayo Coco, Edmonton [seasonal, begins June 15, 2007], Fort McMurray [seasonal], Holguin, London-Heathrow, Montego Bay, Montreal, Orlando, Ottawa, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Saint John, St. John's, Toronto-Pearson, Varadero)
  • Air Canada Jazz (Boston, Charlottetown, Deer Lake, Fredericton, Goose Bay, Moncton, Montreal, New York-LaGuardia, Ottawa, Saint John, St. John's, Sydney (NS))
• Air Georgian regional hub (Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Saint John, Sydney (NS))
• Air Saint-Pierre (Saint-Pierre)
• Air Transat (Cancún, Cayo Coco, Frankfurt, London-Gatwick, Munich, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Varadero)
• American Airlines
  • American Eagle (Chicago-O'Hare [begins May 1, 2007], New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia)

Diagram of airport

• CanJet (Cancún, La Romana, Montego Bay, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Varadero)[5]
• Delta Air Lines
  • Delta Connection operated by Comair (Boston)
  • Delta Connection operated by SkyWest (Atlanta [seasonal, begins June 9, 2007])
• Condor Airlines (Frankfurt [seasonal])
• Continental Airlines (Newark)
  • Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Newark)
• Icelandair (Reykjavik) [begins spring 2007]
• Maritime Air Charter
• Northwest Airlines
  • Northwest Airlink operated by Pinnacle Airlines (Detroit [seasonal])
• Porter Airlines (Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto-City Centre) [seasonal, begins June 29, 2007]
• Prince Edward Air (Charlottetown)
• Provincial Airlines (Deer Lake, Gander)
• Skyservice (Cancún, Cayo Coco, Holguin, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Varadero)
• Sunwing Airlines (London (ON), Punta Cana, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver, Varadero)
• Thomas Cook Airlines (London-Gatwick [seasonal])
• United Airlines
  • United Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines (Washington-Dulles)
  • United Express operated by Shuttle America (Chicago-O'Hare [seasonal, begins June 7, 2007])
• WestJet (Calgary [seasonal], Edmonton [seasonal], Hamilton, Orlando [seasonal], St. John's, Tampa [seasonal], Toronto-Pearson)
• Zoom Airlines (Belfast [begins June 8, 2007], Glasgow, London-Gatwick, Paris [begins June 12, 2007], Punta Cana [seasonal], Varadero [seasonal])

[edit] Cargo

• Cargojet Airways [6]
• Fedex
• Kelowna Flightcraft for Purolator Courier
• Gemini Air Cargo for Air Canada

[edit] Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum

The nearby Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum includes both military and civil aviation exhibits .

[edit] See also

• Halifax/Shearwater Airport
• Swissair Flight 111

[edit] References

1. ^ Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 15 March 2007 to 0901Z 10 May 2007.
2. ^ Airport Divestiture Status Report
3. ^ ^{a b} Transport Canada TP 1496 - Preliminary aircraft statistics 2006
4. ^ ^{a b} Halifax Passenger Statistics
5. ^ Canada's New Government Renames Halifax International Airport in Honour of Robert L. Stanfield
6. ^ World’s top customer service airports for 2006

[edit] External links

• Halifax International Airport Homepage
  • FlyHalifax.com
• 2004 AETRA survey results
• Current Aviation Weather for CYHZ
• Page about this airport on COPA's Places to Fly airport directory