Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Îles-de-la-Madeleine Airport (CYGR) serves the Magdalen Islands archipelago in the Gulf of St Lawrence, Quebec, sitting just northeast of the village of Havre-aux-Maisons. It is a Transport Canada-owned remote airport with a full-length asphalt runway and ILS approach, handling scheduled airline services as well as general aviation traffic to this island community.
Îles-de-la-Madeleine Airport is the main air link for the Magdalen Islands, a Quebec archipelago in the Gulf of St Lawrence. It is owned and operated by Transport Canada and designated a remote airport under the National Airports Policy, reflecting its role as a year-round lifeline for the islands rather than a purely recreational field. For a visiting VFR pilot it offers an interesting mix of a genuinely remote, sea-girt location, an instrument approach onto one runway, and some notable local hazards including nearby high ground and resident sea gulls.
The airport lies on Havre-aux-Maisons Island, part of the Magdalen Islands, roughly 1.7 nautical miles northeast of the village of Havre-aux-Maisons on House Harbour. Although the field itself is almost at sea level, terrain to the south rises significantly, which prohibits circling approaches in that direction. The airport is classified as an airport of entry, with Canada Border Services Agency officers on site able to handle general aviation aircraft carrying no more than fifteen passengers.
The airport has two paved runways. Runway 07/25 is 4,496 feet long, hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS available on runway 07. Runway 16/34 is 3,600 feet long, hard-surfaced and lit, but has no instrument approach. Field elevation is 16 feet.
Traffic can be worked on Madeleine Radio, the flight service station frequency of 123.15 MHz, which also serves as the mandatory frequency for the aerodrome. Moncton Center provides area control on 134.35 MHz, and Quebec Radio operates a remote communications outlet on 126.7 MHz. Runway 07 is served by an ILS.
Pilots should be aware that circling approaches to the south are prohibited because of rising terrain beyond the airport, so approach and departure planning needs to account for this restriction. Sea gulls are noted as a frequent hazard during landing, and this should be borne in mind when planning approach and go-around options.
The village of Havre-aux-Maisons and its adjacent House Harbour, immediately southwest of the airport, are the principal visual references for locating and joining the field, with the airport situated close to the water on Havre-aux-Maisons Island within the wider Magdalen Islands archipelago.
The airport has long served as the main gateway to the Magdalen Islands and was formerly used by Eastern Provincial Airways, Intair and Quebecair before these carriers ceased operations. On 29 March 2016 a Mitsubishi MU-2 turboprop crashed on approach to the airport, killing seven people, including former federal Transport Minister Jean Lapierre, his wife and three of his siblings, an event that remains a significant chapter in the airport's history.
Îles-de-la-Madeleine Airport continues to handle scheduled services, with Air Canada Express operating seasonally to Montreal-Trudeau, Air Saint-Pierre operating seasonally to Saint-Pierre, and PAL Airlines and Pascan Aviation linking the islands to destinations including Gaspé, Montreal, Quebec City and Bonaventure. Customs and immigration clearance is available for arriving aircraft, but advance notice must be given ahead of arrival, so pilots should treat this as an effective PPR requirement for international or customs-cleared flights.
