Departure
92%
vs 95% ▼ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Thunder Bay Airport (CYQT) serves the city of Thunder Bay on the north shore of Lake Superior in Northwestern Ontario, and is the region's principal air hub. It offers a tower-controlled environment with two paved runways, full instrument approach capability, and a history stretching back to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, making it a straightforward and interesting destination for a VFR cross-country in the sim.
Thunder Bay Airport lies within the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and is operated by the Thunder Bay International Airports Authority Inc. It is the busiest airport in Northwestern Ontario, handling scheduled airline services, regional and charter operators serving remote northern communities, forest-fire aviation, and flight training, which gives a sim pilot a good mix of traffic to work around when planning an approach or departure.
The airport sits in the Winnipeg flight information region, with Winnipeg Centre providing en-route control on 132.125 MHz. Vehicles and traffic reach the field from Thunder Bay's core via Ontario Highway 61 and connections with the Harbour Expressway and Highway 11. The airport is classified as an airport of entry, with Canada Border Services Agency officers on site able to handle aircraft carrying up to 40 passengers.
Thunder Bay has two paved runways. Runway 07/25 is 7,262/7,261 feet long, hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving runway 07. Runway 12/30 is 5,250 feet long, also hard-surfaced and lit, but without an ILS. Field elevation is 646 feet.
Tower operates on 118.1 MHz, which also serves as the mandatory-frequency A/G channel. Approach and departure control is on 119.2 MHz, ATIS broadcasts on 128.8 MHz, and ground movements are handled on 121.9 MHz. Winnipeg Centre provides area control on 132.125 MHz, and a remote communications outlet for Winnipeg Radio is available on 122.5 MHz. An ILS is available for runway 07.
The airport began life as Fort William Municipal Airport, opened in 1938 partly as a means of relieving local unemployment. During the Second World War it hosted No. 2 Elementary Flying Training School under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, and it also served as a test-flying base for fighter aircraft built at the nearby Canadian Car and Foundry factory. Before the municipalities of Fort William and Port Arthur amalgamated into Thunder Bay, the field was known as the Canadian Lakehead Airport. An early wartime aerodrome record from around 1942 lists it as an RCAF and Department of Transport aerodrome with three turf runways of around 4,000 feet each, oriented 14/32, 9/27 and 4/22, at an elevation of 645 feet. The airport was transferred from government control to the newly formed Thunder Bay International Airports Authority in 1997, and underwent a major runway rehabilitation and upgrade in 2022, described by the Authority as the largest construction project in its history. Over the decades the field has hosted scheduled jet services from a long list of carriers, including Air Canada, Canadian Airlines International, Nordair, Pacific Western Airlines, and cross-border North Central and Republic Airlines flights to Duluth, Chicago-O'Hare, Minneapolis-Saint Paul and Denver.
Thunder Bay remains a significant regional hub, with Air Canada, Porter Airlines and seasonal WestJet and Flair services connecting to Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Winnipeg, alongside regional operators such as Bearskin Airlines, North Star Air and Wasaya Airways linking Thunder Bay to smaller communities across Northwestern Ontario. On-demand charter operators including Air Bravo and Thunder Airlines are based at the field. The Confederation College School of Aviation, known as the Aviation Centre of Excellence, conducts flight training from the airport, and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry operates a seasonal aviation, forest-fire and emergency services base there. Avgas is available on the field, with refuelling handled by SkyFill Aviation Refuelling Inc as a Shell Aviation agent, and the airport is certified for round-the-clock operations.
