Brantford Airport , also known as Brantford Municipal Airport, is a registered

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

located west southwest of the City of

Brantford Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County, but is politically separate with ...

, in the county of Brant,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. There is a single

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...

at the airport. The airport hosts a widely attended air show every year at the end of August, featuring the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

aerobatic team the

Snowbirds The Snowbirds, officially known as 431 Air Demonstration Squadron (french: 431e Escadron de démonstration aérienne, links=no), are the military aerobatics flight demonstration team of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The team is based at 15 Wing ...

and airplanes from the

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is an aviation museum located at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Mount Hope, Ontario, Canada. The museum has 47 military jets and propeller-driven aircraft on display. Displayed is a co ...

. The airport is home to many of the area's general aviation aircraft. Aviation spare parts retailer

Aircraft Spruce Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co. is an American producer of aircraft parts and services including plans for homebuilt aircraft. History Aircraft Spruce Co. was founded in 1965 by Bob and Flo Irwin as a follow-on to founding Fullerton Air Parts ...

established its sole Canadian location here in 2008, with expansion plans announced in 2013. The airport is often used for film shoots; scenes from ''

Welcome to Mooseport ''Welcome to Mooseport'' is a 2004 American political satire comedy film directed by Donald Petrie, and starring Ray Romano and Gene Hackman in his final film role. It was filmed in Jackson's Point, Ontario and Port Perry, Ontario. Plot Former P ...

'', ''

Where The Truth Lies ''Where the Truth Lies'' is a 2005 British-Canadian erotic thriller film written and directed by Atom Egoyan and starring Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, and Alison Lohman. It is based on Rupert Holmes' 2003 novel of the same name. The film alternat ...

'' and multiple ''

Mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiza ...

'' episodes have been filmed there. Although the airport has never had scheduled air service, weekly charters fly students of the W. Ross Macdonald School home to

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 (2021). The city's economy is based on natural resource ext ...

, Trenton,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and Sault Ste. Marie. The airport is classified as an

airport of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internatio ...

Nav Canada Nav Canada (styled as NAV CANADA) is a privately run, not-for-profit corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation system (ANS). It was established in accordance with the ''Civil Air Navigation Services Commercialization Act' ...

and is staffed by the

Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and cu ...

(CBSA) on a call-out basis from the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport. The CBSA officers at this airport currently can handle

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

aircraft only, with no more than 15 passengers.

History

A public aerodrome was established at Brantford in 1929 (located at Fairview and King George streets). The airport opened at its present location on 11 November 1940 as No. 5 Service Flying Training School, a

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zea ...

airfield. It was not until 27 April 1970 that aerodrome lands and management duty were transferred from the federal government to the municipal level. The current terminal building was built in 1966. The City of Brantford once looked at the possibility of closing the airport, but this move was widely opposed by local citizens, tenants, and users. In May 2007, Brantford City Council held a public forum to canvass views on the airport as an necessary service for the city. Many presentations made clear points that growing cities require airports as part of their fundamental infrastructure, to attract and retain corporate investment. In January 2008, Brantford City Council voted unanimously to support the inclusion of $1.9 million in planned airport infrastructure upgrades in the city's Capital Plan for Fiscal 2008. That allowed for repaving the main runway and a second runway that was last paved in the 1940s. In 2004, 2009 and 2011, new rows of

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s were built, with plans for more in the future. In August 2014, an experimental aircraft crashed near the airport. Early the next month, a small aircraft crashed while on approach to the airport, killing one pilot. On April 27, 2016, a Cessna 182 flipped over on the runway, injuring one pilot. A plane was found crashed on the runway in the morning of November 13, 2018, with two deceased occupants. File:RCAF Brantford Public Area.jpg, Main public area File:RCAF Brantford Terminal.jpg, Terminal building File:RCAF Brantford Details.jpg, Pilots beware! File:RCAF Brantford Refuelling.jpg, EMB-500 refuelling File:RCAF Brantford Monument Detail.JPG, Plaque for No. 5 SFTS

References

External links

Brantford Municipal Airport
(official website)
Brantford Flight CentreCOPA Flight 148 Brantford - Local Canadian Owners and Pilots Association GroupBrantford Airport Closure Questioned - Press release from Brant AeroBrant Aero - Avionics and maintenance shop based at the AirportBrantford Municipal Airport
on COPA's ''Places to Fly'' airport directory * {{authority control Registered aerodromes in Ontario Airports of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Buildings and structures in Brantford Transport in Brantford 1940 establishments in Ontario