By Skies Magazine | April 22, 2024 Estimated reading time 5 minutes, 35 seconds.
Nav Canada, the nation’s air navigation service provider, is celebrating the 85th anniversary of Canada’s first air traffic control tower, which opened April 13, 1939, at Saint-Hubert Airport in Quebec.
This simple structure, with only a few radios and light projectors, initially served as part of a military training facility during the Second World War, and marked the start of air traffic control in Canada.
“We are reminded of the pivotal role air traffic control plays in safeguarding our skies,” said Nick von Schoenberg, president of the Canadian Air Traffic Control Association and 27-year air traffic controller.
“A lot has changed since the erection of that first tower, and a lot hasn’t: Air traffic controllers remain the most vital and indispensable component within it.”
The Saint-Hubert airport, re-branded as Montreal Metropolitan Airport earlier this year, traces its history to an announcement by Prime Minister William Mackenzie King in 1926.
King pledged support for a British-proposed airship service at the Imperial Conference in London, U.K., that year. In 1924, Britain began constructing airships to improve communication within its empire, and the Canadian government concurrently hoped to establish an airmail service between Montreal and remote regions.
Canada chose Saint-Hubert for both projects and established the country’s first civilian aerodrome. The first airmail delivery took place in November 1927 with a Fairchild FC-2W2 operated by Canadian Colonial Airways Ltd., and the Saint-Hubert facility continued to evolve.
In 1985, Transport Canada opened a new control tower at the airport, and Nav Canada acquired the nation’s air navigation systems in 1996, becoming the world’s first fully privatized air navigation service provider.
Today, air traffic controllers in Montreal use sophisticated radar, space-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) technology, and radio communications to guide aircraft to their destinations. Nav Canada operates 42 airport control towers across the country.
“It’s amazing to think that air traffic control in Canada started right here in Saint-Hubert,” said Ian Michon, a Nav Canada air traffic controller who began his career at the Saint-Hubert tower in 2011.
“We’re located in the middle of three runways, making this one of the most unique towers in our country. This airport also has a long history of training the next generation of aviation industry professionals. From Canada’s first air traffic controllers, to RCAF pilots, to general aviation pilots, this airport has evolved many times to meet Canada’s current and future needs.”
“Here’s to 85 years of safe skies and countless milestones yet to come,” says Ray Bohn, President and CEO of Nav Canada. “Happy anniversary to all the air traffic service professionals who have worked at Canada’s first air traffic control tower.”
“Here’s to 85 years of safe skies and countless milestones yet to come,” added Ray Bohn, president and CEO of Nav Canada. “Happy anniversary to all the air traffic service professionals who have worked at Canada’s first air traffic control tower.”
