Departure
94%
vs 95% ▼ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Kingston Norman Rogers Airport is the main airport serving Kingston, Ontario, sitting on the shore of Lake Ontario a few miles west of the city centre. Built as a Second World War pilot training station, it retains its historic triangular runway layout and today combines scheduled and general aviation traffic with an active flying club, making it a straightforward and scenic destination for visiting VFR pilots.
Kingston Norman Rogers Airport, known locally as Kingston Airport, is the principal aerodrome for Kingston, Ontario, and its metropolitan area. It began life as a Royal Air Force training station during the Second World War and has since grown into a city-owned airport of entry with scheduled passenger service, general aviation activity and a resident flying club, all set against the backdrop of Lake Ontario. Its wartime triangular runway pattern and preserved Harvard memorial give it a strong historical character that makes it an interesting stop for visiting pilots.
The airport lies about 4.3 nautical miles (8.0 km) west of downtown Kingston, Ontario, in the western part of the city, close to the Lake Ontario shoreline. It is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency, which can process aircraft carrying up to 30 passengers.
Kingston Norman Rogers Airport has two paved runways. Runway 01/19 is 6,001 feet long, hard-surfaced and lit, with an instrument landing system serving runway 19. Runway 07/25 is 3,688 feet long, also hard-surfaced and lit. Field elevation is 299 feet.
Kingston Radio provides a Mandatory Frequency (MF) service on 122.5 MHz between 0615 and 2300 local time, with the same frequency used as an Aerodrome Traffic Frequency (ATF) outside those hours; 122.5 MHz is also used for radio and VDF services under the Kingston Traffic and Kingston Radio callsigns. A remote communications outlet on 123.55 MHz provides access to London Radio for flight service information. Runway 19 is equipped with an ILS for instrument approaches.
Within its published hours the airport operates under a Mandatory Frequency regime, requiring all aircraft operating in the vicinity to establish two-way communication with Kingston Radio on 122.5 MHz before entering the zone and to remain on frequency throughout circuit and taxi operations; outside these hours the same frequency serves as an advisory Aerodrome Traffic Frequency.
Before 1940 Kingston was served only by a grass strip north of the downtown area, which closed in 1942. The present airfield was built in 1940 to the west of the city as a training station for the Royal Air Force's No. 31 Service Flying Training School, providing advanced instruction on Battle and Harvard aircraft. In 1942 the school was absorbed into the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, and in 1944 the BCATP's No. 14 Service Flying Training School moved to Kingston and merged with the RAF unit, flying Harvards, Yales and Ansons. The airfield's runway layout still shows the classic BCATP triangular pattern, and a decommissioned yellow Harvard stands on a pedestal near the airport entrance to commemorate this wartime role. The airport is also home to the Royal Canadian Air Force Association's 416 Wing Kingston. In 1953 the naval air squadron VC 921 was formed as a tender to HMCS Cataraqui and operated Harvards and a single C-45D Expeditor from the field until it disbanded in 1959. Ownership passed from the federal Department of Transport, which had leased the site to the city after the war, to full city control in 1972, with the City of Kingston purchasing the airport outright in 1974. Originally built with six 2,500-foot parallel runways, the field was reduced to three; traces of the old parallel strips can still be seen from the air. Runway 01/19 was progressively extended northward, first to 5,000 feet and later, in 2018, to its current 6,001 feet, to accommodate larger aircraft, while runway 07/25 was lengthened to nearly 4,000 feet with no further extension planned. The former third runway, 12/30, was decommissioned in 2003 and converted to a taxiway. The airport joined the Southern Ontario Airport Network, an alliance of twelve commercial airports in the region, in 2017.
Kingston Norman Rogers Airport remains an active general aviation and scheduled-service airport, serving as the home base for a number of based pilots and hosting a resident flying club. Avgas is available on site, and the airport's status as an airport of entry means customs clearance can be arranged for aircraft with up to 30 passengers. Scheduled passenger operations at the field have varied in recent years, with services to Toronto and Montreal operated by regional carriers at different times, though such commercial links are subject to change and are not relevant to VFR planning. Pilots should expect to operate under the Mandatory Frequency procedures on 122.5 MHz described above.
