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Region of Waterloo International Airport (CYKF) is a controlled airport at Breslau, Ontario, midway between Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph, mixing scheduled airline services with a busy general aviation and flight-training scene. Its long main runway and ILS approach make it a straightforward destination for simulator pilots, while its two crossing runways and mandatory-frequency-style tower operation give it a realistic mix of airline and light-aircraft traffic.
CYKF is a medium-sized international airport owned and operated by the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, located in Breslau in the township of Woolwich, Ontario, just west of Toronto. It handles year-round scheduled flights with Flair Airlines and WestJet alongside seasonal charter services, but it is equally known for its long-running flight-training industry, having briefly become Canada's busiest airport by movements in November 2020 due to continued flight-school activity during the pandemic. For a simulator pilot the field offers a good mix of airline arrivals, general aviation circuit traffic and an ILS-equipped main runway, all within a compact and well-documented Ontario airspace environment.
The airport lies in Breslau, Ontario, within the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, roughly midway between Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph, and close to Highway 401. It sits under Toronto Terminal and Toronto Control airspace, with an ATIS and terminal frequencies shared with the wider Toronto area. The field is classified as an airport of entry, with Canada Border Services Agency officers able to handle general aviation aircraft with prior notice.
CYKF has two paved, lit runways. Runway 08/26 is the main runway at 6,971 feet, hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving runway 26. Runway 14/32 is a secondary hard-surfaced, lit runway measuring 4,072 feet. Field elevation is 1,030 feet.
Waterloo Tower operates on 126 MHz as the primary tower frequency, with 118.55 MHz as a secondary tower frequency. Waterloo Ground works on 121.8 MHz. Toronto Terminal provides arrival and departure services on 128.275 MHz, which also serves as the Toronto Control PAL frequency. The airport ATIS broadcasts on 125.1 MHz. Outside tower hours, or beyond the tower's area of responsibility, the field operates as a mandatory frequency (MF) unit on 126 MHz, styled as Waterloo Traffic, applicable within 5 nautical miles and below 4,000 feet ASL between 0400Z and 1200Z. Runway 26 is served by an ILS approach.
Pilots operating within the mandatory frequency area, defined as within 5 nautical miles of the airport and below 4,000 feet ASL, are required to call Waterloo Traffic on 126 MHz during the published hours. At other times Waterloo Tower manages arrivals and departures on the same frequency or on the secondary tower frequency of 118.55 MHz, with Waterloo Ground handling taxi instructions on 121.8 MHz.
Aviation at Waterloo dates back to 1930, when the original Kitchener-Waterloo Municipal Airport, also known as Lexington Airport, opened on the Heinrich farm on Lexington Road in Waterloo, built jointly by the towns of Kitchener and Waterloo with the Ontario Equitable Life and Accident Insurance Company. It had two grass runways of 1,800 and 2,000 feet and was used mainly for flying instruction, with Gilles Air Service operating there from 1930 to 1932, followed by the Kitchener-Waterloo Flying Club from 1932 to 1951. During the Second World War civilian flying ceased and the airfield supported the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. After the war a larger site was sought, and in 1948 the Waterloo-Wellington Airport Commission acquired land in the Breslau area, opening a new airfield there in 1950; the original Lexington Road site was sold in 1951 and redeveloped, with its entrance now forming Lexington Park. The Breslau airport became a general aviation facility in 1969, was run by the Waterloo-Wellington Flying Club until 1973, and was then sold to Waterloo Region and the City of Guelph, becoming a publicly owned facility renamed Waterloo Regional Airport. It was renamed Region of Waterloo International Airport in March 2004 following the announcement of Northwest Airlines flights to Detroit. Subsequent decades brought scheduled services from carriers including Bearskin Airlines, WestJet and Sunwing Airlines, along with major apron, taxiway and approach-lighting expansions from 2003 onward, and the airport marked its 75th anniversary with a public open house.
The airport today operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, combining scheduled airline services from Flair Airlines and WestJet with a significant general aviation and flight-training presence, including based flying clubs and expanding helicopter operations such as Great Lakes Helicopter's new hangar facility. It is designated an airport of entry with on-site Canada Border Services Agency officers able to clear general aviation aircraft up to 180 people with two hours' prior notice. Avgas is available on the field. Simulator pilots planning a visit should be aware that prior permission may be required for certain operations at this busy mixed-use airport.
