Stephenville International Airport

Stephenville Dymond International Airport[4] (IATA: YJT, ICAO: CYJT) is an airport located 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) south southeast of Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was built by the United States Army Air Forces and operated as Ernest Harmon Air Force Base from 1941 to 1966.

Stephenville Dymond International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorThe Dymond Group of Companies
LocationStephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador
Time zoneNST (UTC−03:30)
 • Summer (DST)NDT (UTC−02:30)
Elevation AMSL81 ft / 25 m
Coordinates48°32′40″N 058°33′00″W
Websitewww.cyjt.com
Map
CYJT is located in Newfoundland and Labrador
CYJT
CYJT
Location in Newfoundland and Labrador
CYJT is located in Canada
CYJT
CYJT
CYJT (Canada)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
09/27 10,011 3,051 Asphalt
Statistics (2010)
Aircraft movements2,164

The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency who are able to process general aviation with up to 30 passengers.[1]

History

In 1941 the United States obtained rights to construct a United States Army Air Forces base in the St. George's Bay area of Newfoundland. The U.S. 76th Congress approved the 99-year lease and in April 1941, construction began.

The USAAF base was built as Stephenville Air Base. However, after the USAAF became the United States Air Force in 1947, it was renamed Ernest Harmon Air Force Base on June 23, 1948, in honour of Captain Ernest Emery Harmon. Harmon was a US Army Air Corps ace who was killed in an air crash in 1933.

On September 1, 1943, the Newfoundland Base Command transferred control of Harmon Field to the North Atlantic Wing, Air Transport Command. The base became a part of the Northeast Air Command in October, 1950. Then in April 1957, the Strategic Air Command assumed control.

Airport ramp and terminal building

The mandate of the base was to maintain a tanker alert force and its capability to meet and refuel Strategic Air Command jet bombers en route to targets. The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter was employed in this task.

The base was also used as a refueling stop for transatlantic military flights. In addition, Harmon supported three Air Defense Command units. In 1957, the Canadian Department of Transportation constructed an airport terminal to accommodate Trans-Canada Air Lines (now Air Canada). 1966 saw the closure of the U.S. Air Force Base in Stephenville.

The airport is now owned and operated by the local airport authority, the Stephenville Airport Corporation Inc. Stephenville Airport was designated as an alternate in the Trans Oceanic Plane Stop (TOPS) program on 23 July 1970.

Since the late 1990s, Stephenville has been designated as one of five Canadian airports suitable as an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle. However, as of 2011, the Space Shuttles are no longer in service.[5]

The Stephenville Airport was the major passenger airport for all of western Newfoundland until the early 1990s when provincial government decided to direct more traffic to the Deer Lake Regional Airport. All major carriers used Stephenville such as Air Canada, Eastern Provincial Airways and Canadian Airlines.

In 1970 the airport was designated by international scheduled air transport and for international general aviation regular use.

On February 1, 2018, the Canada Flight Supplement indicated that runway 02/20, which was 3,959 ft (1,207 m) long, had been closed.[1]

In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airport suffered notable cuts to its airline routes.[6][7] In August 2020, Winnipeg Airport Services Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Winnipeg Airports Authority, was contracted to provide airport management and safety management services for the Stephenville Airport.[8][9]

Operation Yellow Ribbon

On September 11, 2001, eight civilian airliners made unscheduled landings at the Stephenville Airport following the closure of North American airspace in the wake of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. As a participant in Operation Yellow Ribbon, the town hosted nearly 3,000 stranded passengers for approximately one week.

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Air Saint-Pierre Charter: Saint-Pierre[10]

Services
Stephenville Airport in 1963
  • Enterprise Car Rental (off site)
  • Islander's At the Airport restaurant
  • Airport check-in counter service
  • ATM
  • Ground transportation to and from hotels
  • Passenger lounge
  • Lav, water, ground power, stairs, air start and ground handling equipment available to service aircraft up to a Boeing 747

[11]

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

  1. Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
  2. Synoptic/Metstat Station Information
  3. Total aircraft movements by class of operation
  4. "Home". Stephenville Dymond International Airport. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  5. "Transport Canada NASA Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Site Contingency Plan". March 2006. Archived from the original on May 17, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  6. "Stephenville airport loses summer flights from Porter, Sunwing | CBC News".
  7. "Stephenville council approves cash for private company to manage airport | CBC News".
  8. "WASCO takes over management of Stephenville Airport, names new manager | SaltWire".
  9. "Stephenville councillor and mayor on opposite sides when it comes future of airport | SaltWire".
  10. "Atlantic Escapes - Let Us Help You Escape!".
  11. Chris Lambie. Halifax possible shuttle pit stop, The Chronicle Herald, July 5, 2006.
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