Mont-Joli Airport

Mont-Joli Airport
IATA: YYY – ICAO: CYYY – WMO: 71718
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Régie Intermunicipale
Location		Mont-Joli, Quebec
Elevation AMSL		172 ft / 52 m
Coordinates		48°36′32″N 068°12′27″W / 48.60889°N 68.2075°W / 48.60889; -68.2075Coordinates: 48°36′32″N 068°12′27″W / 48.60889°N 68.2075°W / 48.60889; -68.2075
Map
CYYY Location in Quebec
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
06/24	5,000	1,524	Asphalt
15/33	3,954	1,205	Asphalt
Statistics (2010)
Aircraft movements			5,798
Sources: Canada Flight Supplement[1] Environment Canada[2] Movements from Statistics Canada[3]

Plane getting ready to take-off at the Mont-Joli Airport

Mont-Joli Airport, (IATA: YYY, ICAO: CYYY), is located 1.5 NM (2.8 km; 1.7 mi) north northwest of Mont-Joli, Quebec, Canada.

History

In the summer of 1940 the Royal Canadian Air Force selected a flat area of farmland between Mont-Joli Station (on the Montreal-Halifax Canadian National Railway mainline) and the Saint Lawrence River for a military airfield. Construction on the aerodrome began in October 1941 and was completed by April 1942 at a cost of $200,000. Three paved runways and 50 buildings were constructed for what became known as RCAF Station Mont-Joli.

Inaugurated on April 15, 1942, RCAF Station Mont-Joli was used as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan for a bombing and gunnery school until the end of World War II. Less well-known was RCAF Station Mont-Joli's critical role during the Battle of the St. Lawrence when RCAF Eastern Air Command used it as a coastal patrol base; during 1942-1944, dozens of Canadian cargo and warships were sunk by German U-boats in an effort to close the critical Saint Lawrence Seaway off to shipping. Aircraft staging out of Mont-Joli were crucial to warding off U-boats and ensuring the safety of shipping out to the eastern tip of the Gaspé Peninsula at Cap-Gaspé.

World War 2 plane in operation at Mont-joli airport

RCAF Station Mont-Joli was decommissioned by the air force in 1945 and became the property of the Department of Transport (now Transport Canada) on December 15, 1945 for use as a civilian airport, and its ownership was transferred in 1995 to the "Régie intermunicipale de l’aéroport régional de Mont-Joli". It is the busiest airport in Eastern Quebec, though still very far from the Québec/Jean Lesage International Airport in Quebec City and Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal.

In 2007 a second runway (15/33) was opened and the 06/24 runway decreased in length from 6,000 ft (1,829 m) to 5,000 ft (1,524 m).

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Air Canada Express operated by Jazz Air	Baie-Comeau, Montreal-Trudeau
Pascan Aviation	Baie-Comeau, Montreal-Saint-Hubert, Quebec City, Sept-Îles, Wabush

References

1. ^ Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 20 October 2011 to 0901Z 15 December 2011
2. ^ Synoptic/Metstat Station Information
3. ^ Total aircraft movements by class of operation — NAV CANADA flight service stations

External links

• Past three hours METARs, SPECI and current TAFs for Mont-Joli Airport from NAV CANADA as available.