Canada's National Airport System (NAS) was defined in the National Airports Policy published in 1994. It was intended to include all

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

s with an annual traffic of 200,000 passengers or more, as well as airports serving the

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

and

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

capitals.Criteria for the NAS
/ref> All airports in the NAS, with the exception of the three territorial capitals, are owned 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 ...

and leased to the local authorities operating them. The three territorial airports are owned and, with the exception of

Iqaluit Airport Iqaluit Airport ( iu, ᐃᖃᓗᖕᓂ ᒥᑦᑕᕐᕕᒃ) serves Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada and is located adjacent to the city. It is operated by the government of Nunavut. It hosts scheduled passenger service from Ottawa, Montreal, Rankin Inlet ...

, are operated by their respective territorial governments. Iqaluit is operated by Nunavut Airport Services, a subsidiary of Winnipeg Airport Services Corporation, which in turn is a subsidiary of Winnipeg Airports Authority. As of 1994, the 26 NAS airports served 94% of all scheduled passenger and cargo traffic in Canada. Due to very close proximity to Canada's east coast, the airports on the islands of

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

(an

overseas collectivity The French overseas collectivities (''collectivité d'outre-mer'' or ''COM'') are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonie ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) cooperate with Canada on air travel via several major Canadian airports.

NAS airports

The following list contains the 26 NAS airports effective 17 April 2010, along with their

IATA codes The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

and passenger numbers for 2014:http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/programs/airports-status-menu-441.htm *

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Calgary International Airport Calgary International Airport , branded as YYC Calgary International Airport, is an international airport that serves the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately northeast of downtown and covers an area of 20.82 squa ...

, YYC, 14,666,729 **

Edmonton International Airport Edmonton International Airport, as of August 29, 2022, officially branded YEG Edmonton International Airport is the primary air passenger and air cargo facility in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of the Canadian province of Alberta. Designat ...

, YEG, 8,240,161 *

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Kelowna International Airport Kelowna International Airport is a Canadian airport located approximately 10 minutes or northeast of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on Highway 97. The single runway airport operates scheduled air service to Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, E ...

, YLW, 1,607,991 **

Prince George Airport Prince George Airport (abbreviated in initials as PGA) is an airport that serves Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, and the surrounding area. It is located just within the southern boundary of the city, southeast, and is run by the Princ ...

, YXS, 435,128 **

Vancouver International Airport Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is located from Downtown Vancouver. It is the second busiest ...

, YVR, 18,944,527 **

Victoria International Airport Victoria International Airport serves Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is north northwest of Victoria on the Saanich Peninsula, with the bulk of the airport (including the passenger terminal) in North Saanich, and a small portion of the ...

, YYJ, 1,634,887 *

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport (commonly known as Winnipeg International Airport or Winnipeg Airport) is a Transport Canada designated international airport located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the seventh b ...

, YWG, 3,626,250 *

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 ...

Fredericton International Airport Fredericton International Airport is an airport in Lincoln, New Brunswick, Canada, southeast of Fredericton. The airport is classified as an international airport by Transport Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). ...

, YFC, 248,740 (2007) **

Greater Moncton International Airport Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 *Greater Bank, an Australian ...

, YQM, 649,427 **

Saint John Airport Saint John Airport is an airport located east northeast of the central business district of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The airport is wholly within the boundaries of the City of Saint John. In 2018, the terminal handled 282,217 passenge ...

, YSJ, 220,007 (2010) *

Newfoundland and Labrador 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 ...

Gander International Airport Gander International Airport is located in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and is operated by the Gander International Airport Authority. Canadian Forces Base Gander shares the airfield but is a separate entity from the airport. The ...

, YQX, 115,382 ** St. John's International Airport, YYT, 1,329,239 *

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

Yellowknife Airport Yellowknife Airport is located in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. The airport is part of the National Airports System, and is operated by the Government of the Northwest Territories. The airport has regular scheduled passenger servic ...

, YZF, 359,384 *

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) 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. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Halifax Stanfield International Airport Halifax Stanfield International Airport is a Canadian airport in Goffs, Nova Scotia, a rural community of the Halifax Regional Municipality. It serves the Halifax region, mainland Nova Scotia, and adjacent areas in the neighbouring Maritime pro ...

, YHZ, 3,620,107 *

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

, YFB, 140,563 (2011) *

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 ...

London International Airport London International Airport is located northeast of the city of London, Ontario, Canada. In 2018, the airport handled 514,685 passengers, and, in 2011, was the 20th busiest in Canada in terms of aircraft movements, with 94,747. Air Canada E ...

, YXU, 479,928 **

Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport Ottawa/Macdonald–Cartier International Airport or Macdonald–Cartier International Airport (french: L'aéroport international Macdonald-Cartier) is the main international airport serving Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and its metropolitan area kno ...

, YOW, 4,472,365 **

Thunder Bay International Airport Thunder Bay Airport is an airport in the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. With 108,130 aircraft movements in 2012, it was the fourth busiest airport in Ontario and the 16th busiest airport in Canada. During the same year, more than 761,0 ...

, YQT, 739,837 **

Toronto Pearson International Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surro ...

, YYZ, 37,523,366 *

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 ...

Charlottetown Airport Charlottetown Airport is located north of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The airport is currently run by the Charlottetown Airport Authority, is owned by Transport Canada and forms part of the National Airports System. The airp ...

, YYG, 317,150 *

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

** Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, YUL, 14,174,375 **

Montréal Mirabel International Airport Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

, YMX, no commercial passengers **

Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport, also known as Jean Lesage International Airport ( French: ''Aéroport international Jean-Lesage de Québec'', or ''Aéroport de Québec'') , is the primary airport serving Quebec City, Canada. Desig ...

, YQB, 1,449,413 *

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

Regina International Airport Regina International Airport is an international airport located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, located south-west and west-southwest of the city centre. It is run by the Regina Airport Authority. It was, in 2018, the 15th busiest airpor ...

, YQR, 1,254,933 ** Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport, YXE, 1,497,579 *

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport is an airport of entry located in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. It is part of the National Airports System, and is owned and operated by the Government of Yukon. The airport was renamed in honour of lon ...

, YXY, 263,401

References

External links

National Airports Policy
{{authority control Airports in Canada