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Sudbury Airport (CYSB) serves Greater Sudbury, Ontario, from a site in Garson, about 11 nautical miles northeast of the downtown core. It offers two long, hard-surfaced runways, one with an ILS, and operates as a mandatory frequency aerodrome under a flight service station rather than a control tower, making it a useful and well-equipped stop for visiting VFR and IFR traffic in northern Ontario.
Sudbury Airport, often referred to as Greater Sudbury Airport, lies in the community of Garson within the city of Greater Sudbury, Ontario. It is a public airport owned by the municipality and operated by the Sudbury Airport Community Development Corporation, handling scheduled regional airline services, air ambulance operations, and general aviation traffic. For a simulator pilot, it is notable for its long paved runways, ILS approach, and its history as a former air traffic control tower field now run as a flight service station.
The airport is located on Municipal Road 86 between the communities of Garson and Skead, roughly 11 nautical miles northeast of downtown Sudbury. It is classified by Nav Canada as an airport of entry, with Canada Border Services Agency officers available on a call-out basis for general aviation aircraft carrying no more than 15 passengers. Overlying area control is provided by Toronto Centre.
Sudbury has two paved runways, both hard-surfaced and lit. Runway 04/22 is the longer of the pair at 6,571 feet, with an ILS serving runway 22. Runway 12/30 measures 4,968 feet. Field elevation is 1,138 feet.
Sudbury operates as a flight service station rather than a staffed control tower. ATIS is broadcast on 127.4 MHz. The mandatory frequency, worked by Sudbury FSS, is 125.5 MHz, with ground movement historically handled on 121.8 MHz. Toronto Centre provides overlying area control on 135.5 MHz, and a remote communications outlet to London Radio is available on 123.475 MHz. An ILS is provided for runway 22.
Sudbury is a mandatory frequency (MF) aerodrome, meaning pilots must establish two-way communication with Sudbury FSS on 125.5 MHz before entering the zone and follow their traffic advisories, though the station does not issue clearances in the way a control tower would. As the field is staffed around the clock as a flight service station, pilots should expect to receive traffic, weather and runway information throughout the day and night.
The airport sits between the communities of Garson and Skead along Municipal Road 86, providing a clear ground reference for pilots approaching from the Sudbury area. No specific published visual reporting points are detailed in the available information.
Sudbury Airport began in 1952 as an emergency landing facility with a single 6,600 foot strip built to support CF-100 interceptors operating from CFB North Bay. A Sudbury Airport Committee was formed in February 1953 to lobby for commercial air services, leading to the construction of a second runway and a terminal building completed in 1955. Regular commercial service began on February 1, 1954, with Trans-Canada Air Lines. An air traffic control tower was added in 1972, and the terminal was rebuilt on a larger scale in 1973, later renovated and expanded in the early 2000s. Ownership passed from the federal government to the Sudbury Airport Community Development Corporation on March 31, 2000. Following a Nav Canada study, the control tower closed in June 2008 owing to low traffic levels, and the airport has since operated around the clock as a flight service station. The field has also seen changing airline fortunes over the years, including the arrival and later withdrawal of WestJet service, and it hosted Sunwing charter flights to Cuba in the mid-2000s.
Sudbury Airport continues to handle scheduled regional airline services alongside general aviation, air ambulance, and forest fire management flying. Tenants include a training facility operated by MAG Aerospace and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry's Sudbury Forest Fire Management Centre, and the field is a base for Ornge air ambulance operations. The airport is staffed 24 hours a day as a flight service station rather than by a control tower.
