The City Centre Airport - Where Business Takes Flight

1. First aerobatic demonstration 1916, by a woman.
2. First Air Mail in Western Canada 1918, same woman.
3. First Commercial Flight in Western Canada 1919.
4. First use of an Aircraft in a police manhunt 1919.
5. First Commercial passenger service 1919.
6. First municipally licensed airport in Canada 1927.
7. Oldest operating flying club in Canada EFC 1927.
8. First major Canadian Mercy flight (to Fort Vermillion) 1929.

The 1930s
9. Fastest growing and largest air passenger and cargo operations in Canada 1930s.
10. “Gateway to the North” coined by Edmonton Journal about ECCA.
11. 1930s Golden age of the Bush pilots from ECCA opening all of the North.
12. Grant McConachie opens scheduled Northern air service.
13. King George visits Edmonton by Air, Wiley Post and others use ECCA on record flights.
14. 1939 Aircraft maintenance #1 largest aviation repair facility in Canada (now it’s Northgate Industries Ltd.).

The War Years
15. Edmonton becomes home to #2AOS over 35,000 personnel trained in what is now the Alberta Aviation Museum.
16. Edmonton Flying Club becomes #16EFTS provides basic training for military pilots from around the world.
17. USAAF (United States Army Air Force) sets up Northwest Staging Route and air supply lines to Alaska and Russia, one of the greatest supply projects of WW2.
18. ECCA busiest airport in the world with almost 865 aircraft per day passing through Edmonton.
19. Para Rescue invented at #2AOS by Wop May, continues today around the world.

Postwar 1946 to 1960
20. Winter Evaluation Flight (Now AETE in Cold Lake) established at ECCA, tests all new aircraft for RCAF including the first Jet Fighter.
21. Grant McConachie establishes Orient routes over the pole for Canadian Pacific using his experiences of the 1930s. Because of this Edmonton becomes the stopping point for all of the Orient routes for all airlines. With this Edmonton is branded “Cross Roads of the World”.
22. 418 City of Edmonton Squadron operates from it’s wartime return to 1992 on airport.

Modern 1961 to 2008
23. Exceptional operational safety record over 8 decades.
24. From 1971 – 1981, one of the top ten busiest airports in Canada by passenger traffic and aircraft movements.
25. Jet Service provided to all major Northern communities from ECCA, excluding Yukon and NWT (after 1975).
26. Alberta Aviation Museum 3rd largest collection in Canada.

Today
27. One of the busiest General Aviation Airports in Canada with over 87,500 air movements in 2007.
28. Major air ambulance/medivac service airport for northern Alberta, Northwest Territories, as well as some medivac from Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
29. Approx 700 people employed on airport in all capacities.
30. Multi Million dollar business tax base.

Edmonton City Centre Airport has been known as: Hagman Field, Blatchford Field,  Edmonton Industrial Airport, Edmonton Municipal Airport and it’s still the “Heart of Edmonton”.

PRINTABLE VERSION
 

In 1995 the citizens of Edmonton were asked to do things:
(1) allow the City Centre Airport to be leased to Edmonton Airports.
(2) allow Edmonton Airports to consolidate scheduled service at the Edmonton International.
 

• The City of Edmonton promised the citizens that the City Centre Airport would be kept open and operated as a general aviation airport.
• At no time did the City or Edmonton Airports imply that the airport would be closed.
• They both committed to continue to operate the airport as an airport.
 

• The runway approaches and the air navigation instrumentation to the City Centre Airport are protected from development that would encroach on these facilities. This is a natural and prudent protection that has been in place for a long time.
• With respect to the downtown area - the only areas that are really affected are West of 109 Street South of 104 Avenue and East of 97 Street South of 104 Avenue. Within the downtown area buildings up to 42 stories are permitted.
• Depending on where the building is located, additional height may be permitted.
• Commercial building development in downtown is limited by many factors. The City Centre Airport is probably the least significant limiting factor.
• Eliminating scheduled service from the City Centre Airport was probably more damaging to the demand for commerce space than any height limitations.
• Many businesses that had an incentive to locate downtown because of easy access to the Airport no longer wanted to be downtown and moved to other areas or other communities.
 

• The ability of the airport to operate at the most favorable level is controlled not by market opportunities but by the policies of Edmonton Airports.
• They limit who can use the airport and how. Passenger service of any kind is strictly regulated by where they can fly, how often, and how many passengers can be carried.
• There is no other publicly licensed airport in Canada that is so tightly regulated.
• There is a market niche for the City Centre Airport that is different from the International, different from the airport’s past and different from its present restricted role.
• The City Centre Airport has many advantages to offer in connecting Edmonton to other regional centres in Alberta. In many cases the International is not competitive in serving these communities.
• If the City Centre Airport were to be able to compete for passenger and cargo traffic to these centres Edmonton would benefit.
• At one time Edmonton was not only the primary distribution centre for Alberta but also was the centre for all government services.
• What is needed is a sound strategy that recognizes market opportunities and aircraft type that are appropriate for scheduled passenger services. Let the market decide what Albertans and Edmontonians want.
 

• The simple recommendation is to designate the City Centre Airport as a “commuter airport” limited to airlines that are licensed to operate aircraft that are 19 passengers or less and allow them to operate on an unrestricted basis to any community in Alberta.

The Edmonton City Centre Airport is the oldest municipally owned airport in Canda. It is the first licensed airport in the British Commonwealth. Throughout its long history this airport has changed its role and names

- Hagman Field

- Blatchford Field

- Edmonton Industrial Airport

- Edmonton Municipal Airport

- City Centre Airport.

Mayor Kenneth Blatchford grasped the vision of aviation’s potential and gave the first great impetus to Edmonton aviation and Edmonton earned the enviable title of “Gateway to the North”.
 

During the war, the city offered its prime resource to the government as a major training centre for the British Commonwealth and American Armed Forces
 

As Edmonton Municipal Airport, this airport was known to be the busiest airport in Canada. With the international airport in Leduc failing, powers were put into play to systemically destroy this airport in favour of the international airport in Leduc. In 1996, in a confusing vote, Edmontonians voted to moved scheduled service to Leduc with the agreement that this airport would continue with all non schedule services including cargo, charter and medivac services.
 

Even with increasingly stringent regulations imposed on this airport, this airport continued to be an economic driver, paying its own way and employing thousands of Edmontonians in high skills jobs. 
 

In 2010, in the 100 year anniversary of aviation in Edmonton, Edmonton City Council with the encouragement of Mayor Mandel the motion from Councillor Ed Gibons decided that this important asset for Edmontonians needed to be closed to make way for a residential development. No economic or benefit study was done. Since the systematic destruction of aviation in Edmonton, over 7000 jobs will have left Edmonton.

Legacy...