Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport

Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport is also often referred to as Winnipeg International Airport. The property is the seventh busiest airport in Canada by passenger traffic. The airport served more than 4,484,000 passengers in 2018 and is the 11th busiest airport by aircraft movements. It is a hub for passenger airlines Perimeter Airlines, Flair Airlines, Calm Air, and cargo airline Cargojet.

Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport

Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport is also often referred to as Winnipeg International Airport. The property is the seventh busiest airport in Canada by passenger traffic. The airport served more than 4,484,000 passengers in 2018 and is the 11th busiest airport by aircraft movements. It is a hub for passenger airlines Perimeter Airlines, Flair Airlines, Calm Air, and cargo airline Cargojet.

A vital transportation hub for the province of Manitoba, Winnipeg Airport, is the only commercial international airport in the area since other airports of entry serve general aviation and domestic flights only. The Winnipeg Airport Authority operates the facility as part of Transport Canada’s National Airports System. It is one of eight airports in Canada that have U.S. Border Pre-clearance facilities.

Winnipeg’s distance to other major centers makes YWG the primary airport for a large area, including parts of neighboring territories and provinces (Saskatchewan, Nunavut, etc.). Daily non-stop flights are performed from Winnipeg Airport to destinations across Canada as well as to Mexico, the United States, and the Caribbean. Besides, regularly registered flights to numerous small remote communities in Northwestern Ontario, Northern Manitoba, and Nunavut, are also served from the airport.

History

In a two-day ceremony on May 27 and 28, 1928, the Winnipeg Flying Club formally presented an airfield in the Rural Municipality of St. James. Premier John Bracken addressed the crowd of 7,000 attendants at the new Stevenson Aerodrome, named after the noted Manitoba aviator and pioneer bush pilot, Captain Fred J. Stevenson.

In those times, facilities on-site consisted of a small cabin and one hangar about 3.6 meters wide, which could include only folding wing aircraft. The flying club soon established a clubhouse, and other buildings started to appear as private fliers, commercial companies, and the Royal Canadian Air Force moved in.

In 1930, Western Canada Airways became the first primary carrier to operate on the field, flying mail freight and passengers to the west, east, and north. In 1931, Northwest Airways, now Northwest Airlines, made the facility international, introducing a passenger and mail service between Winnipeg and Pembina, North Dakota.

In 1936, a significant improvement took place that gave Winnipeg’s airport a dramatic impetus to the extension.

Additions and modifications continued on this passenger terminal up until 1960 when work started on the new terminal.

At a ceremony in 2006, the property was officially renamed Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport after the Canadian aviation pioneer and visionary, James Armstrong Richardson.