Regina International Airport is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer r ...

located in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...

, Canada, located south-west and west-southwest of the city centre. It is run by the

Regina Airport Authority The Regina Airport Authority is the public, not-for-profit agency that oversees the management of the Regina International Airport, which serves the Canadian city of Regina, and, indeed, the entire southern part of the province of Saskatchewan ...

. It was, in 2018, the 15th busiest airport in Canada. The airport is classified as an

airport of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internat ...

Nav Canada Nav Canada (styled as NAV CANADA) is a privately run, not-for-profit corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation system (ANS). It was established in accordance with the ''Civil Air Navigation Services Commercialization Act ...

and is staffed by the

Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and c ...

(CBSA). CBSA officers at this airport can handle aircraft with no more than 120 passengers. However, they can handle up to 250 if the aircraft is unloaded in stages.

History

Early aviation (1911-28)

The first site in Regina used for flying was the infield at Regina Exhibition Park's horse race track, where visiting barnstormer "Lucky Bob" St. Pierre (a Nebraskan whose real name was "Shaeffer" or "Shaffer") flew a

Curtiss Model D The 1911 Curtiss Model D (or frequently "Curtiss Pusher") was an early United States pusher aircraft with the engine and propeller behind the pilot's seat. It was among the first aircraft in the world to be built in any quantity, during an era ...

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

in August, 1911. A few other barnstormers, notably aviator

Katherine Stinson Katherine Stinson (February 14, 1891 – July 8, 1977) was an aviation pioneer who in 1912 became the fourth woman in the United States to earn the FAI pilot certificate. She set flying records for aerobatic maneuvers, distance, and endurance. ...

of the famous aviation family, appeared in Regina and other prairie cities in the years thereafter, but there was virtually no other aviation activity in

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. After the First World War, Reginan

Roland Groome Roland John Groome (10 July 1897 in Kettering, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom – 20 September 1935) was a Canadian aviator from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Groome, who had served with the Royal Flying Corps as an instructor during W ...

returned from military service as a flying instructor in

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...

and, with partners, set up a company called the "Aerial Service Co." Its primitive airfield was located near what is the current intersection of Hill Avenue and Cameron Street in the city's southern Lakeview district. In May 1920, federal government regulators assigned this field the designation of Canada's first licensed "air harbour". Groome also received Canadian commercial pilot's licence No. 1 and mechanic Robert McCombie was given air engineer's licence No. 1.

Current site (1928-39)

The airport site was developed from 1928 to 1930. A

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devi ...

building was built in 1940. Scheduled airline service was initially provided by

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javian ...

-based Prairie Airways (in 1938) and then

Trans-Canada Air Lines Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGreg ...

(in 1939).

World War II (1939-45)

From the beginning of the war the Regina Flying Club was heavily involved in the contract training for the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

(RCAF). The majority of this training was conducted out of the Regina Municipal Airport. The implementation of the

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New ...

in the early 1940s resulted in the formation of No. 15 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) and RCAF Station Regina at the Airport on November 11, 1940. The School was managed by the Regina Flying Club and was in operation at the site until it was closed on August 11, 1944. From November 1-30, 1945 the former 15 EFTS facilities at the airport were used as a release centre for Airmen leaving the service.

Aerodrome

In approximately 1942 the airport was listed as RCAF & D of T Aerodrome - Regina, Saskatchewan at with a variation of 17 degrees east and elevation of . Three runways were listed as follows:

Relief landing field – Brora

The primary relief landing field (R1) for RCAF Station Regina during the war was located north of the city of Regina, at .

Post-World War II (1945-90)

A new terminal building was erected in 1960. Major renovations to this terminal building were conducted in 1983–86.

Recent history (1990-present)

A $24-million expansion started in January 2004, increasing its capacity to 1.2 million passengers per year. The first stage of the expansion included the expansion of the terminal and includes a larger post-security holding room, another passenger loading bridge, an expansion to the international arrivals area and more baggage carousels. The first phase was completed in August 2005. The second phase is now under way and includes further expansion for security services and for facilities for new tenants such as stores and eating establishments (including a

Tim Hortons Tim Hortons Inc., commonly nicknamed Tim's, or Timmie's is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain. Based in Toronto, Tim Hortons serves coffee, doughnuts, and other fast-food items. It is Canada's largest quick-service res ...

). In 2009, construction began on two new jetways, one between gates 5 and 6, to the right of the glass atrium, and the other as an offshoot of gate 1. This is to keep up with airport demand and to further increase passenger comfort and safety in winter months.

Scheduled service

On May 1, 1995, under the Canada-US

Open Skies The freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country's airlines the privilege to enter and land in another country's airspace. They were formulated as a result of disagreements over the extent of aviation liberalis ...

agreement,

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...

began service to

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota) ...

United Express United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...

then began non-stop service to Chicago O'Hare and Denver. In 1996

WestJet WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, near Calgary International Airport. It is the second-largest Canadian airline, behind Air Canada, operating an average of 777 flights and carrying more than 66,130 ...

began

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

service.

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled an ...

, which began scheduled service to Regina in early 1939, ended mainline service into Regina and six other medium-sized Canadian cities in October 2005, turning over these routes to its subsidiary Air Canada Jazz and its fleet of

Canadair Regional Jet The Bombardier CRJ or CRJ Series (for Canadair Regional Jet) is a family of regional jets introduced in 1991 by Bombardier Aerospace. The CRJ was formerly manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace with the manufacturing of the first CRJ generation, ...

s (CRJ). Mainline service to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

returned on November 2, 2008, using the Embraer E-190 aircraft. In the summer of 2010, Air Canada Jazz introduced summer seasonal service between Regina and Ottawa using the CRJ-705 aircraft, as well late in 2013

WestJet Encore WestJet Encore is a Canadian regional airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta that operates feeder flights for WestJet, owned by the same parent company WestJet Airlines, Ltd. In response to internal market studies about future growth limitat ...

has started service to Calgary using the Dash 8 Q400 aircraft. Since then,

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

and

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

have been added to

's Encore network out of Regina. Starting in the 2014 summer season, WestJet has also added two weekly flights to Las Vegas, one flight on Wednesday, and the other being on Saturday. In late 2014,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

cancelled service to Chicago, and on February 28, 2015, cancelled service to Denver. In May 2016,

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along ...

confirmed that service to Minneapolis would cease on July 31, 2016, ending the last year-round service from Regina to the United States. For a short period of time in 2016, ultra low-cost carrier

NewLeaf NewLeaf Travel Company Inc., branded as NewLeaf, was a Canadian virtual airline, or ticket reseller, based at Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport in Manitoba. It sold tickets for flights operated by Flair Airlines. In Ju ...

(now

Flair Airlines Flair Airlines is a Canadian ultra low-cost carrier (ULCC) headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta. The airline operates scheduled passenger and chartered services with a fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft. The company slogan is ''Plane and Simple.'' The a ...

) operated flights to and from

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ' ...

before suspending the service on November 1, 2016. There were then plans to continue the service. As of 2019, the CEO of Regina Airport was in talks with multiple airlines for possible services back to the United States with a 1.55% increase in passengers in 2018. The last scheduled year-long flight to the United States was in 2016 with

Delta Airlines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along wi ...

flight to

Minneapolis International Airport Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origi ...

indefinitely suspended its routes from Regina to Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Saskatoon in June 2020 due to financial impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Que ...

Sunwing Airlines Sunwing Airlines Inc. is a Canadian low-cost airline headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Sunwing Airlines offers scheduled and charter services from Canada and the United States to destinations within the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, ...

also indefinitely suspended routes from Regina to sun destinations for the 2020/2021 winter season due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. No news has been announced for their return. Service returned on August 24, 2020, to

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

with

. On November 15, 2021, Swoop announced that it would launch twice weekly service between Regina and Edmonton starting June 16, 2022.

Passenger services

Passenger services at YQR are under significant renovation. In late 2013 and early 2014, Regina Airport Authority (RAA) undertook efforts to develop and execute a strategy to improve retail, food and beverage services at Regina International Airport. Services currently include a 24-hour Subway sandwich shop, Tim Hortons Express, Relay (Duty Free) and a fully renovated Rumor Handcrafts shop. In addition, post-security, there is the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, a children's play area, vending machines, free Wi-Fi and a historical display located post-security. There is also a four-currency ATM just prior to security that dispenses US and Canadian dollars, euros, and British pounds. At present, the restaurant located on the second floor pre-security is currently closed for renovations. Post-security services for food and beverage are also under construction, a reduced menu is available in the Lounge (post security). From April 1 until October 1, 2015, YQR was working on additional and expanded food service options before and after security, expanded post-security retail services and improved lay-out in the main restaurant to improve traffic flow. Announced expansions include: * Main Floor Air Terminal Building: Subway, Tim Hortons Express and Convenience, Rumour Handcraft * Pre-security: Tim Hortons (Full Menu), Subway, Skyway Café, Relay * Post-security: Brioche Dorée, Tim Hortons Express, Skyway Lounge, Relay, Sky Grill

Facilities

The RAA Fire Department (with crew of 10) operates from a single fire station housing two Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 ARFF as well as a Rosenbauer AirWolf Rapid Intervention Vehicle in 2012. In 2012 RAA completed renovations to the existing airport fire hall. Ground transportation to/from the airport is limited to taxi and private vehicles. Regina Transit does not currently serve the airport.https://www.regina.ca/opencms/export/sites/regina.ca/residents/transit-services/.media/pdf/proposed_transit_system_25.pdf

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Annual traffic

Traffic for Regina International Airport has mostly remained stagnant since 2013, hovering around 1,250,000 passengers annually. However, RAA saw growth of 1.55% in 2018.

References

External links

* {{authority control Certified airports in Saskatchewan Transport in Regina, Saskatchewan National Airports System Military history of Saskatchewan Airports of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Military airbases in Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Air Force stations