Aboutus

The Alma Airport is located at the heart of the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean area in the centre of the MRC Lac St-Jean Est. It is only 5 miles from downtown Alma.

Our airport infrastructure is owned by the City of Alma and managed by the Corporation d’innovation et développement Alma – Lac-Saint-Jean-Est (CIDAL). The airport has a modern terminal; built in 2000, it houses our administrative offices, a conference room and a waiting room for our customers. On the airborne side of things, we offer a paved track measuring 5000 ft. long by 100 ft. wide. It is fully equipped with cutting-edge technology for instrument flight.

Alma Airport
Data Details
Runway altitude 449 ft. / 137 m
Runway height 5000 ft. / 1,534 m
Runway width 100 ft. / 30 m
Runway directions 13 / 31
Runway directions 6 m on 1.524 m or 1.42 degrees
Runway quality Very good quality, resurfaced in 2007
Runway lights ODAL (Omnidirectional Approach Lighting System) & runway controlled by ARCAL (Aircraft Radio Control of Aerodrome Lighting)
Flight obstacles Clear
Taxi runway Excellent

The Alma Airport has 2 types of approaches:

  • Visual Flight Rules (VFR)
  • Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)

For more information about the airports’ aviation weather forecasting, please visit our AWOS website:

http://awos.aeroportalma.com/ or call 418 669-5406

Please note that the Alma Airport is communicating with an MF frequency. Therefore, according to the Transport Canada regulations, any apparatus within a radius of 5 nautical miles of the Airport must meet the following requirements:

  • Make the mandatory and recommended calls on the MF radio after every progression in the zone;
  • Announce yourself to the traffic information and follow the procedures of integration to the circuit pattern;
  • When possible or when it will not pose any hazards, pilots should always maintain communication on other radio stations, preferably on a second radio. This is especially true for IFR authorizations or to communicate when you exit the MF zone.

Please note that there are parachute operations (parachute jumps) at the Alma Airport from May 1st to September 30th of each year.

For any information please contact us: 418 669-5104.

Our services

Amenities

A variety of high-end equipment is at your disposal

  • Electrical outlets
  • Icebreaking services
  • Nacelle services
  • Hangar rental (when available)
  • Parking on the airport site
  • Snow removal service on request
  • Mule
  • Luggage trolleys
  • NEW! 28-volt ground power unit
  • Maintenance staff on request
  • and much more!

Fuel

Jet A:     (administered by Alma Airport)

  • Information: 418 669-5104;
  • For any request outside office hours, please call 418 480-8686.

100 LL:   (administered by Aviatech Products)

  • Information: 418 480-3999;
  • For any request outside office hours, please call 418 669-0171.

In the terminal

  • Key card rental for airport access;
  • Communal dining area.

Conference room rental

  • Newly designed conference room, which seats up to 14;
  • 55″ LCD TV, wireless network and communication unit for presentations.

Cost :  

4 hours or less: $45.72

8 hours or less: $91.44

Rates for airport services

Please note that the above prices do not include taxes and are subject to change without any notice.

Applicable Fees

Our team

Our history

1955
1959
1961
1962
1975
1979
1980
1983
1984
1985
1989
1991
1997
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2009
2010
2011
2013
2014
2016
2017

October 1955

Work begins on clearing, logging and draining at the future runway site.

Image courtesy of the Société d’histoire du Lac-Saint-Jean

September 1959

Ownership of the site by the City of Alma is transferred to the Federal Government for $1.

August 1959
Construction of the gravel runway.

Image courtesy of the Société d’histoire du Lac-Saint-Jean

September 1961

Construction of the terminal (subsidy from the Quebec Government).

Image courtesy of the Société d’histoire du Lac-Saint-Jean

1962

Installation of runway lighting.

Image courtesy of the Société d’histoire du Lac-Saint-Jean

October 1975

Paving of the runway.

Image courtesy of the Société d’histoire du Lac-Saint-Jean

1979

Summer 1979
Installation of a non-directional beacon (NDB) by the City of Alma.

1979
Construction of the hangar for Air Alma.

April 1980

Beginning of the connection Alma – Roberval – Montreal with Air Alma.

September – October 1983

The entrance road is paved.

1984

Installation of the localizer and the distance measuring equipment (LOC – DME).

1985

Installation of fences around the airport site.

Repairs to the lighting system are completed.

1989

Installation of a new non-directional beacon (NDB).

Repair of the paved parking

Installation of a system to remotely control the runway lights: Aircraft Radio Control of Aerodrome Lighting (ARCAL)

Installation of marker boards

Partial reconstruction of infrastructure

1991

Removal of the transceiver.

Installation of remote control communications.

1997

Installation of a new lighting system.

1999

Draining of the runway.

Installation of an electric power system.

Purchase of new equipment.

2000

Construction of the maintenance hangar by the City of Alma.

Demolition of the terminal.

Construction of the new terminal.

2001

On December 31st, 2001, Air Alma officially puts an end to its operations.

2002

Arrival of Aviatech Products at Alma Airport.

Beginning of charter flights with Panorama Helicopters Ltd.

Installation of the ODAL system.

2003

Installation of a braking indicator system (GBI).

Purchase of a road maintenance truck.

2004

Purchase of a new road maintenance truck through Transport Canada’s Airports Capital Assistance Program (ACAP).

2005

End of the Pascan Aviation connections. This company linked Alma to Montreal from September 9th, 2002 to July 15th, 2005.

Beginning in September 2005, the connection between Alma and Montreal resumes with Starlink Aviation.

On November 29th, 2005, the company adds two new daily flights.

A hangar and headquarters are constructed for Panorama Helicopters Ltd.

A hangar is constructed for Starlink Aviation.

August 2006

International Air Rally.

2007

April 2007
On April 5th, 2007, the extension of the Alma Airport’s runway is announced at a press conference.

September 2007
On September 17th, 2007, work begins on extending the runway.

  • Construction and paving of the runway structure with modifications to the draining system
  • Moving of the fences, the ODAL system and the runway threshold lights
  • Extension of the runway lights and moving of the LOC – DME
  • Removal of all pavement markings from the runway
  • New pavement markings on the 5000-ft. runway

November 2007
The extension of the runway is completed on November 17th, 2007.

December 2007
Launching of Alma Airport’s runway extension on December 17th, 2007.

2009

January 2009
On January 23rd, 2009, a press conference is held announcing the repair of the runway and the building of a sand warehouse thanks to the ACAP.

October 2009
End of the connection to Montreal with Starlink Aviation.

September 2010

Beginning of a new connection between Roberval, Alma and Saint-Hubert with Pascan Aviation.

2011

March 2011
On March 21st, 2011, a new connection begins between Alma and the North Shore.

June 2011
On June 30th, 2011, the Unmanned Aerial System Centre of Excellence (UAS CE) is officially launched in Alma, which will soon become the Canadian reference and a world leader in the field of civil and commercial UAVs.

July 2011
UAS CE concluded a first partnership with CAE of Montreal, a world leader in simulation technologies.

2013

July 2013
The Alma Airport obtains $2.5 M from the Federal Government for the construction of a building for the UAS CE at the airport. The building, including a hangar and offices, is completed in December 2013 and ready to welcome the 16 active members of the Centre.

October 2013
The UAS CE obtains a $325,000 grant from the Government of Quebec to upgrade its infrastructures, hire staff for the Centre, hold promotional activities in Quebec and abroad and organize networking events.

November 2013
For financial reasons, Pascan Aviation interrupts its transportation service from the Alma Airport.

Février 2014

Inauguration of new infrastructures for the UAS CE.

2016

Installation of an Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS).

2017

Merging with Tourisme Alma — Lac-Saint-Jean, the Centre local de développement Lac-Saint-Jean Est (CLD) and Alma’s city economic development service to create the Corporation d’innovation et développement Alma — Lac-Saint-Jean Est, best known under CIDAL.

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