Stephenville Dymond International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerThe Dymond Group of Companies
OperatorStephenville Dymond Airport
LocationStephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador
Time zoneNST (UTC−03:30)
 • Summer (DST)NDT (UTC−02:30)
Elevation AMSL81 ft / 25 m
Coordinates48°32′40″N 058°33′00″W / 48.54444°N 58.55000°W / 48.54444; -58.55000
Websitewww.cyjt.com
Map
CYJT is located in Newfoundland and Labrador
CYJT
CYJT
Location in Newfoundland and Labrador
CYJT is located in Canada
CYJT
CYJT
CYJT (Canada)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
09/27 10,011 3,051 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Aircraft movements104

Stephenville Dymond International Airport[4] (IATA: YJT, ICAO: CYJT) is an airport located 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) south southeast of Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was built by the United States Army Air Forces and operated as Ernest Harmon Air Force Base from 1941 to 1966.

The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency who are able to process general aviation with up to 30 passengers.[1]

History

[edit]

In 1941 the United States obtained rights to construct a United States Army Air Forces base in the St. George's Bay area of Newfoundland. The U.S. 76th Congress approved the 99-year lease and in April 1941, construction began.

On September 1, 1943, the Newfoundland Base Command transferred control of Harmon Field to the North Atlantic Wing, Air Transport Command.

The USAAF base was built as Stephenville Air Base. However, after the USAAF became the United States Air Force in 1947, it was renamed Ernest Harmon Air Force Base on June 23, 1948, in honour of Captain Ernest Emery Harmon. Harmon was a US Army Air Corps ace who was killed in an air crash in 1933.[5]

The base became a part of the Northeast Air Command in October, 1950. Then in April 1957, the Strategic Air Command assumed control.

Airport ramp and terminal building

The mandate of the base was to maintain a tanker alert force and its capability to meet and refuel Strategic Air Command jet bombers en route to targets. The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter was employed in this task.

The base was also used as a refuelling stop for transatlantic military flights. In addition, Harmon supported three Air Defense Command units. In 1957, the Canadian Department of Transportation constructed an airport terminal to accommodate Trans-Canada Air Lines (now Air Canada). 1966 saw the closure of the U.S. Air Force Base in Stephenville.

The airport is now owned and operated by the local airport authority, the Stephenville Airport Corporation Inc. Stephenville Airport was designated as an alternate in the Trans Oceanic Plane Stop (TOPS) program on July 23, 1970.

The Stephenville Airport was the major passenger airport for all of western Newfoundland until the early 1990s when provincial government decided to direct more traffic to the Deer Lake Regional Airport. All major Canadian carriers used Stephenville such as Air Canada, Eastern Provincial Airways and Canadian Airlines. It was one of five sites along eastern North America designated as an alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle orbiter during its launches and landings.[6]

Stephenville International Airport was one of the locations of Operation Yellow Ribbon on September 11, 2001.[7]

On February 1, 2018, the Canada Flight Supplement indicated that runway 02/20, which was 3,959 ft (1,207 m) long, had been closed.[1]

In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airport suffered notable cuts to its airline routes. All airlines never returned to Stephenville as commercial aviation increased across Canada and at nearby Deer Lake Regional Airport. [8]

Acquisition by Dymond Group

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In September 2021, the Ottawa-based Dymond Group announced plans to purchase the airport and promised to invest $200 million in the airport and community.[9] These promised investments were subsequently increased to $1 billion focused on the production of large, hydrogen-powered drones.[10] The purchased closed in August of 2023 for $6.90 plus the assumption of $1.1 million in liabilities.[11]

Since the acquisition, the Dymond Group, whose source of capital is unclear,[12] has had considerable financial difficulties. A Saskatchewan investor was awarded nearly $2 million in a 2024 default judgment for failure to repay a loan secured by the airport property, while a contractor is seeking $2.4 million for unpaid lighting work on the runway.[13]

In March 2025, Transport Canada downgraded the airport to a registered aerodrome.[14]

Services

[edit]
Stephenville Airport in 1963
  • Islander's At the Airport restaurant
  • Airport check-in counters are vacant
  • Ground transportation to and from hotels
  • Passenger lounge

References

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Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ^ a b c Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
  2. ^ Synoptic/Metstat Station Information
  3. ^ Total aircraft movements by class of operation
  4. ^ "Home". Stephenville Dymond International Airport. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  5. ^ "Airport". www.stephenville.ca. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  6. ^ "Transport Canada NASA Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Site Contingency Plan". March 2006. Archived from the original on May 17, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  7. ^ Canada, Transport (2014-01-07). "Four Days in September". Transport Canada. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  8. ^ "Stephenville airport loses summer flights from Porter, Sunwing | CBC News".
  9. ^ Turner, Troy; Connors, Colleen (13 January 2022). "Stephenville airport authority says it's waiting for formal purchase offer from Dymond Group". CBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  10. ^ Antle, Rob; Turner, Troy. "Carl Dymond calls for continued patience, says Stephenville airport acquisition soon 'good to go'". CBC News. No. 29 October 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  11. ^ Antle, Rob; Turner, Troy. "Stephenville airport has a new owner, as transfer to Dymond Group is finally signed'". CBC News. No. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  12. ^ Turner, Troy; Conners, Colleen; Antle, Rob (24 February 2022). "Mystery man, mystery plan: Questions abound on Stephenville airport acquisition". CBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  13. ^ Antle, Rob; Turner, Troy. "Saskatchewan investor wins $2M judgment against Stephenville airport owner Carl Dymond". CBC News. No. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  14. ^ Antle, Rob; Turner, Troy. "Carl Dymond calls for continued patience, says Stephenville airport acquisition soon 'good to go'". CBC News. No. 29 October 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
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