Fort McMurray Airport Expansion & Redevelopment Project

The Fort McMurray Regional Airport consists of 523 ha of land. It operates with a single 2,286 m runway and a 2,950 m² air terminal building which was opened in 1986.

The Province of Alberta created the Fort McMurray Airport Authority on December 1, 2009 to manage and operate the Airport. The Authority is currently in the process of acquiring Airport assets from the municipality. However, the most crucial challenge is to expand and redevelop the airport to meet the needs of the rapidly growing oil sands capital and its travelling public.

The current Air Terminal Building is significantly undersized for the existing passenger demand, but its growth is constrained by its current location next to an existing development. Parking facilities, access roads and municipal services are inadequate. Airside, the Apron, de-icing facility, cargo and baggage handling facilities are also limited. All airport land currently accessible is occupied with the significant demand for development. Through review it was determined that the most cost-effective, non-disruptive option would be a “Greenfield” Site Development, meaning a completely new Air Terminal Building to the south of the existing runway.

 View Air Terminal Building Plans       
  Airport Development Plan    ←   NEW  

Air Terminal Building

• Annual passenger movement through the airport has increased from 223,000 in 2004 to 704,000 in 2009. The Airport Area Structure Plan forecasts that the terminal will need to be expanded when passenger traffic exceed 235,000 annually. That trigger was exceeded in 2005.
• The current air terminal building is designed for a peak-hour maximum of 200 people. The current peak demand requires holding space for 300.
• In a volatile community such as Fort McMurray, a strategy that services the current demand, allows for reasonable growth, and permits easy expansion when required must be considered. It is anticipated that the current need, short-term future need, and the space required to offer an international service requires an air terminal building approximately 14,000 m² large with a peak-hour capacity of over 400. This terminal would have enhanced concession space and lots of room for the anticipated one million annual passengers.

Servicing and Access

• The proposed terminal will require a new access road off Hwy 69.
• The current water distribution system is currently being updated to service the expanded terminal.
• The current sewage lagoon and collection system are adequate for the existing and proposed development. Upon extension of the municipal wastewater system, the airport will join that system and decommission the lagoon.

Project Budget

Budget is being determined; there is no tax subsidy required for this project. Revenues will accrue from:

• Airport Improvement Fee
• Concessions
• Terminal Fees
• Landing Fees
• Car Parking
• Car Rentals
• Ground Leases

Project Benefit

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo requires a signature airport that the citizens of the Region can be proud of. Coming from a long history as a transportation centre, and with a reliance on transportation as an economic base, Fort McMurray is returning to its roots.

Already the busiest regional airport with a single runway in Canada, we now see increased interest in rail, road and water transportation-based activity. In an area looking for economic diversification, the recent purchase of the railway by CN Rail and an increased interest in a Calgary/Edmonton/Fort McMurray rail corridor is promising. The return of barge service to Fort Chipewyan in 2007 and the numerous pilot projects to transport materials to the Athabasca Oil Sands down the Athabasca is encouraging. The announcement that Highway 63 will finally be twinned and the improvements to Highway 63 through the Urban Service Area and northward are now underway. The identification of a Fort McMurray Ring Road, the development of the Saline Creek Community, the release of land for an industrial/commercial area to the south of Fort McMurray and the expansion of the Saprae Creek Subdivision puts the Airport at the epicenter of an economic reinvention.

The Fort McMurray Airport forms part of the gateway to this Region and it is the key to the transformation of Fort McMurray from small town to dynamic city. What better way to welcome citizens and guests to Fort McMurray than through an international airport with scheduled flights across Canada, to the United States and with charters to holiday destinations around the world.