Halifax Stanfield International Airport (IATA: YHZ, ICAO: CYHZ) 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 provinces. The airport is named in honour of Robert Stanfield, the 17th Premier of Nova Scotia and former leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

The airport, owned by Transport Canada since it opened in 1960, has been operated since 2000 by the Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA). It forms part of the National Airports System.

Designated as an international airport by Transport Canada,[3] Halifax Stanfield is the 8th busiest airport in Canada by passenger traffic. It handled a total of 3,579,293 passengers in 2023[2] and 84,045 aircraft movements in 2017. It is an operating base for Cougar Helicopters, Maritime Air Charter, and PAL Airlines, as well as a focus city for Air Canada and Porter Airlines. 

Background

An airfield in the West End, known as Chebucto Field, was built as the Halifax Civic Airport by the City of Halifax in 1931 on the former site of Blueball Farm. It served as the city's main airport until 1941, when it was closed and leased to the federal government to serve as an army camp in World War II.[4] Today Saunders Park, named after the first Halifax airport manager and Aero Club manager Donald Saunders, and some parts of the residential area of Westmount Subdivision, mark the site. RCAF Station Shearwater subsequently functioned as Halifax's primary airport until the current airport was opened. In October 1945, the City of Halifax asked the federal Department of Transport for help choosing a site for a new civil airport.[5]

A key factor was to find a site near Halifax with a minimal number of days per year when fog would affect airport operation. Lucasville was favoured, but after a year of study it was found to have similar average visibility to the frequently foggy airport at Shearwater.[6] A site near Kelly Lake was then scrutinized based on a recommendation by Trans-Canada Air Lines. After two years of monitoring, the site was officially approved in 1954 for construction of a modern, C$5 million airport.[6] The land was purchased by the City of Halifax on April 5, 1955, while the Department of Transport was tasked with building the airport.[7][5]

Construction and early years

Construction of the new airport began in November 1955.[8] The runways were built by Diamond Construction of Halifax. The modernist terminal building was designed by Gilleland and Strutt, an architecture firm which previously designed a similar-looking terminal at Ottawa.[8][9]

The new airport was substantially completed in June 1960, and a temporary licence for daytime visual flight rules (VFR) operations was issued that month.[10] An opening gala was held on Dominion Day of 1960, the same day a licence permitting full operations was issued.[7][10] At 4:50 am on August 1, 1960 the first airplane landed there, a Vickers Viscount running the Trans-Canada Airlines Flight 400 between Montreal and Newfoundland. It was piloted by Halifax native W.E. Barnes. The first overseas flight arrived an hour later, travelling from London en route to Montreal.[11] The airport was formally inaugurated on September 10, 1960, by the Minister of Transport, George Hees.[12] The ultimate cost of construction was about $18 million.[7]

Passenger numbers grew steadily during the first few decades of operation. The passenger terminal was substantially renovated in 1966.[13] A 5,000-square-metre (54,000 sq ft) passenger terminal extension opened in July 1976, which saw the installation of the airport's first three air bridges.[5][14] New temporary passenger walkways were constructed in 1988 to serve regional carriers.[4] By 1990, approximately 2,500,000 passengers passed through the airport annually, up from about 180,000 when it first opened. A 400-square-metre (4,300 sq ft) southern expansion was opened in December 1994 by Minister of Transport Doug Young, while the check-in area was expanded in 1998.[5]

Owing to the National Airports Policy, announced in 1994, the Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA) was founded in November 1995. Management of the airport was officially passed from Transport Canada to HIAA on February 1, 2000.[5]