World War II (1940–1945) at Abbotsford Airport entrance The Royal Canadian Air Force purchased the land to build Abbotsford Airport in 1940. In 1943 the construction of the three runways based on a triangular layout was complete. The same year, under the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the No. 24 Elementary Flying Training School started operations from this location until 1944. The No 5 Operational Conversion Unit was split between Abbotsford and
Boundary Bay Airport.
Aerodrome information In approximately 1942, the aerodrome was listed at with a Var. 23.5 degrees E and no listed elevation. The aerodrome was listed as "Under construction - Servicable" and had three runways as follows:
Post war (1945–1997) Following
World War II, the airport was largely used for
general aviation and as a secondary field to
Vancouver International Airport. Prior to the use of
instrument landing systems, fog could make Vancouver Airport unusable and flights had to land at Abbotsford. If a big earthquake floods or otherwise damages low-lying Vancouver Airport on
Sea Island in
Richmond, then as many flights as possible will likely be looking to land at Abbotsford Airport. The airport became the home to
Skyways Air Services and
Conair Aviation in the 1960s. Abbotsford is still the primary base for Conair's fleet of
water bombers. In September 1984,
Pope John Paul II held an open-air mass for over 200,000 people at the airport.
Current (1997–present) On January 1, 1997, the ownership of the Abbotsford Airport was transferred from the Department of Transport to the City of Abbotsford for a sum of $10. In June of that year, Abbotsford became a jet passenger airport in with the start of scheduled service to Alberta by
WestJet. Prior,
Airspeed Aviation had been the exclusive operator offering regional service to Victoria, B.C. since 1986.
Canada 3000 was the first airline to offer transcontinental service from Abbotsford to Toronto in June 2000. Abbotsford's first international charter flight was to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in December 2003 by tour operator Transat Holidays. Since 2000, many airlines and tour operators have come and gone from Abbotsford, including
Air Canada,
Air Canada Tango,
Air Canada Jazz,
Air North,
Canada 3000,
Central Mountain Air,
Helijet,
Jetsgo, Signature Vacations,
Zoom Airlines,
Harmony Airways,
Peace Air and
ZIP Air. In 2010, a new parallel taxiway was added alongside runway 07/25, and the main airport apron was extended. An aircraft run-up bay that can accommodate up to three medium weight category aircraft at the same time was added near the Cascade Aerospace hangar. From 2017, Abbotsford International Airport began to see a resurgence in air passenger numbers, with the introduction of service to
Edmonton and
Calgary with
WestJet. In 2018,
Flair Airlines introduced additional flights to
Edmonton, and new flights to
Winnipeg and
Hamilton.
Swoop, WestJet's
ULCC subsidiary, began similar operations, with flights to Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton,
London (ON),
Las Vegas, and seasonal flights to
Mazatlán and
Puerto Vallarta.
Air Canada Rouge used to offer seasonal service to
Toronto between June and October since 2015. This service was initially suspended in 2019 due to the
Boeing 737 MAX groundings and once again in 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. It has never returned since. ==Airshow==