One of Canada’s busiest airports is getting a major makeover.
The Calgary International Airport (YYC) is undergoing a $2-billion expansion that will see it nearly double in size.
The airport has had an explosion in traffic in the past decade, increasing 60 percent in the last six years alone. An expansion is now crucial to bring the infrastructure up to speed, say airport authorities.
“Both our terminal and runways are often over-capacity during our peak times—they’re under construction in order to meet our current needs,” says Jody Moseley, director of corporate communications & marketing for the Calgary Airport Authority.
“The extension projects are absolutely needed.”
The expansion, said to be the largest in the airport’s history, will include a new 4.2-kilometre runway, the longest of its kind in Canada, as well as a concourse expansion double the size of the terminal building.
To accommodate the weight of an aircraft—which can reach almost half a million kilos—the runway had to be built with a triple-layer cake of packed gravel, cement stabilizer, and concrete going more than a metre deep.
It will be able to land the world’s largest planes and accommodate all the major airlines.
