Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport (GMIA, french: Aéroport international Roméo-LeBlanc du Grand Moncton) or Moncton/Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport is located in the city of
Dieppe
Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newha ...
east northeast
of downtown
Moncton
Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...
,
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
, Canada. Originally named Greater Moncton International Airport, the airport was renamed in 2016, in honour of former
Governor General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
Roméo LeBlanc
Roméo-Adrien LeBlanc (December 18, 1927June 24, 2009) was a Canadian journalist, politician and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 25th since Canadian Confederation.
LeBlanc was born and educated in New Brunswick, and also ...
.
The GMIA handled 674,406 passengers
and 122,308 aircraft movements
in 2019.
Designated as an
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
by
Transport Canada
Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportati ...
, it 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). CBSA officers at this airport currently can handle aircraft with up to 300 passengers. Nevertheless, planes as large as the 580 passenger
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
have been handled.
GMIA is home to the
Moncton Flight College
The Moncton Flight College (MFC) is a pilot training school based at the Greater Moncton International Airport (CYQM) in Dieppe, New Brunswick, Canada. They have a second location at the Fredericton International Airport (YFC) in Lincoln, NB. In ...
, the largest flight college in Canada.
History
On January 11, 1928, the first scheduled air flight out of the
Greater Moncton
Greater Moncton () is a census metropolitan area comprising Moncton, Riverview, and Dieppe in New Brunswick, Canada.
Population
Greater Moncton has a population of 157,717 (2021). Migration is mostly from other areas of New Brunswick (especiall ...
area took place. This flight was carrying mail and passengers to the
Magdalen Islands
The Magdalen Islands (french: Îles de la Madeleine ) are a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . While part of the Province of Quebec, the islands are in fact closer to the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland th ...
. Two sites were considered for the first air strip. Leger's Corner was chosen however because of more favourable landing conditions. Part of this land was donated to the city of Moncton by Simon B. LeBlanc of Leger's Corner, a developer, land owner and owner of the LeBlanc general store and post office located on the south corner of the now named streets of Acadie Avenue and Champlain Street.
In 1929, a local private company bought the land at Léger's Corner airstrip and through the years two
runways
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete, o ...
were constructed as well as structures for aircraft maintenance. It was also in 1929 that the Moncton Aero Club was founded, as was the International Airways Flying School. These later became the
Moncton Flight College
The Moncton Flight College (MFC) is a pilot training school based at the Greater Moncton International Airport (CYQM) in Dieppe, New Brunswick, Canada. They have a second location at the Fredericton International Airport (YFC) in Lincoln, NB. In ...
, one of the pre-eminent flight schools in Canada. Also in the same year, the airport expanded its air mail service to include
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...
and
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
.
In 1936, Transport Canada and the local government discussed the possibility of the construction of an airport suitable for trans-Canadian routes. The Léger's Corner site was unsuitable for expansion and instead they chose a site in nearby Lakeburn as the new site for the airport. A paved runway and two additional dirt landing strips were constructed.
In March 1940, the
Department of National Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
opened a
No. 8 Service Flying Training School(SFTF) at the newly developed
RCAF Station Moncton
RCAF Station Moncton or RCAF Aerodrome Moncton or BCATP Station Moncton, was a Second World War training air station of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). It was located east of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
History
World War ...
under the auspices of the
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 ...
. The school trained war pilots for the Commonwealth nations. A new hangar was also constructed at the airport during the war to serve as a repair and maintenance facility.
During the 1940s, civilian air services expanded and became available serving
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Halifax,
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...
,
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Saint John,
Fredericton
Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...
and
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. The hangar of Trans-Canada Airlines (later
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...
), became the location for the first
air terminal
An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft.
Within the terminal, passengers purchase ...
. In 1952, a larger hangar was converted into a modern air terminal but it was very shortly thereafter destroyed by fire. In 1953, a replacement air terminal was constructed.
Further expansion in 1964 brought many changes to the airport including an
air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
tower and a new operations building. In 1976, the air terminal was again expanded.
Throughout the years, many renovations were made to the air terminal building, including in 1998–99, an international arrivals area to suit the needs of 1999's eighth Sommet de la
Francophonie
Francophonie is the quality of speaking French. The term designates the ensemble of people, organisations and governments that share the use of French on a daily basis and as administrative language, teaching language or chosen language. The ...
. A large landing apron was constructed at the same time at the opposite side of the airport in a location which would later become the site of the new international airport terminal. This landing apron would be pressed into service in a dramatic manner on
September 11, 2001
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
when airspace over North America was shut down following the World Trade Center attacks. A dozen flights with over 2,000 passengers
were diverted to the Greater Moncton Airport.
In May 2001, the new, state-of-the-art international air terminal was completed and officially opened in 2002 by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
. The Greater Moncton International Airport is the busiest airport in New Brunswick, servicing more than 552,629 passengers per year.
In May 2006,
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers.
Continental started o ...
' subsidiary
Continental Express
Continental Express was the operating brand name used by a number of independently owned regional airlines providing commuter airliner and regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines. In 2012 at the time of the merger be ...
began Moncton's only nonstop service to the United States with once-daily (sometimes twice daily) flights to
Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Count ...
in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.[New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...]
. However, the service between Moncton and Newark was ended on September 19, 2014.
FedEx Express
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the name ...
, TC Ventus Freight and
Purolator Courier
Purolator Inc. is a Canadian courier that is 91% owned by Canada Post, 7% owned by Rainmaker Investments Ltd. and 2% by others.
The company was originally organized as Trans Canada Couriers, Ltd. In 1967, it was acquired by the US manufacturer ...
also have large hangars at the airport.
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the annual passenger traffic, which was steadily increasing, suddenly plummeted in 2020.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Statistics
Annual traffic
See also
*
Moncton/McEwen Airport
*
Transportation in Greater Moncton
References
External links
Greater Moncton International Airport
{{authority control
Certified airports in New Brunswick
Buildings and structures in Dieppe, New Brunswick
Transport in Moncton
Transport in Dieppe, New Brunswick
Transport in Greater Moncton
National Airports System