Transport Canada selected the current site for Edmonton International Airport, on the opposite side of the city from the military airport at
RCAF Station Namao, and purchased over of land. When the airport opened on November 15, 1960, its first
terminal was an arch
hangar. Today, it is in use by
Summit Air. In 1963, a passenger terminal, built in the
international style, was opened. It remains in use as the North Terminal. Artwork, fired by Alberta natural gas, adorned the departures area exterior. A large mural, commissioned by the Canadian government in 1963 for $18,000 titled
Bush Pilot in Northern Sky by
Jack Shadbolt, remains to this day. An appraisal in 2005 indicated that the mural was worth $750,000, and a restoration of the mural was undertaken in 2007. During the 1970s, the airport experienced rapid growth in traffic as the city of
Edmonton grew, and served approximately 2 million passengers by 1980. However, from the early 1980s until 1995, traffic declined. This decline was attributed to the continued usage of
Edmonton City Centre Airport as well as to a slowing economy. Edmonton City Centre did not have the facilities to accept large wide-bodied, long-haul aircraft. Thus airlines used City Centre to fly
short-haul flights to hubs in other cities where connections to many locations were available. Growth returned in 1995. In the
1995 Edmonton municipal election, 77% of voters approved by
plebiscite to consolidate all scheduled jet passenger service at Edmonton International Airport. In 1998, the airport began the $282 million "1998–2005 Redevelopment Project". The three-phase project included the construction of the south terminal and central hall concept, a commuter facility, doubling of the
apron, and a
multistorey parkade. This redevelopment project expanded the passenger capacity to 5.5 million. By the time the expansion project was completed in 2005, continued passenger growth triggered planning for another expansion. A new control and office tower was added in 2009. Further expansions completed in 2013 including seven new passenger gates, 14 boarding bridges, moving walkways, and advanced baggage handling and scanning systems. A new
Renaissance Hotel was another major addition to the airport landscape. The airport played a major role during the
2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, operating as hubs for aerial
firefighting and
medical evacuation. The airport became a way-station and temporary shelter for thousands of Fort McMurray evacuees. The Emergency Operations Centre in the airport ran for 112 hours, organizing the arrival and departure of hundreds of aircraft. During May 2016, the airport saw more than 300 additional daily flights on top of their regularly scheduled service. In August 2016, the Government of Alberta announced $90 million in funding to begin twinning
Highway 19 and that it has protected the area needed for a third runway, which is required due its estimated length and orientation as runway 11/29, causing it to exceed current airport boundaries. The airport also plans to extend runway 12/30 by one-third its current length from to increase accessibility and capacity tied to
Port Alberta Developments/
Intercontinental routes.
Historical international airline service aircraft at Edmonton International Airport The airport had international service soon after it opened. In 1960,
Canadian Pacific Airlines was operating nonstop flights to Amsterdam with
Bristol Britannia turboprop aircraft several times a week. By 1961, Canadian Pacific had introduced
Douglas DC-8 jetliners on its nonstop service to Amsterdam. Air Canada had also begun daily nonstop
Boeing 727-200 service to both Los Angeles and San Francisco by 1979 and was operating direct one stop
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 service to
Chicago O'Hare Airport via Winnipeg by 1985. In 2005,
America West Express operated by
Mesa Airlines via a code sharing agreement on behalf of
America West Airlines was flying nonstop to Los Angeles with
Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft. ==Terminal==