About YGK Airport

Our history 

Our airport was established in 1940 in the throes of the Second World War. Within a span of five months, Britain's Royal Air Force cleared 700 acres and adapted the land for Canada's first air training school.  

Air training began in December 1940 and young pilots from all over the Commonwealth came to Kingston. The flight school changed the Kingston skies during the war. Over 100 planes would fly for 12-hour periods every day. After dark, 20 planes would take to the air for night flight training.    

At the end of the war, the Department of Transport gained ownership of the site and leased it to the City of Kingston. The Kingston Flying Club moved operations to the airport and continued their activities. The City of Kingston purchased the YGK airport in 1974. 

Norman Rogers Airport 

Norman Rogers, originally from Nova Scotia, was a World War I veteran, Rhodes Scholar, and professor at Queen’s University. After being elected as Kingston’s Member of Parliament in 1935, he became Minister of Labour and, later in 1939, Minister of Defence. He chose Kingston as the site for Canada’s first air training school, making a lasting impact on the city. 

In 1940, Rogers died in a plane crash on his way to Toronto. He was scheduled to give a speech against rising xenophobia toward German-born Canadians. To honour his legacy and contributions, Kingston named its airport after him, keeping his memory alive in the city’s history. 

Ongoing modernization 

In 2018, we began a modernization project to enhance the airport’s services for passengers. By 2019, we completed the project, which included an expansion of our passenger terminal, upgrades to our navigational aids and extension of our primary runway. 

Today, Kingston Airport supports a variety of flights, including medical patient transfer. Additionally, our airport services UPS freight, corporate, military and medical emergency flights, as well as private general aviation. The airport is home to both airport-related and unrelated businesses. Some of which include flight schools, an FBO with fuel services, a helicopter maintenance facility and The Landings, an executive 18-hole golf course.