RCAF Station Mont-Joli

Mont-Joli Airport
IATA: YYY ICAO: CYYY WMO: 71718
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Régie Intermunicipale
Location	Mont-Joli, Quebec
Time zone	EST (UTC−05:00)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−04:00)
Elevation AMSL	172 ft / 52 m
Coordinates	48°36′32″N 068°12′27″W / 48.60889°N 68.20750°W / 48.60889; -68.20750Coordinates: 48°36′32″N 068°12′27″W / 48.60889°N 68.20750°W / 48.60889; -68.20750
Map
CYYY Location in Quebec
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 06/24 5,000 1,524 Asphalt 15/33 3,954 1,205 Asphalt
Statistics (2010)
Aircraft movements 5,798
Sources: Canada Flight Supplement Environment Canada Movements from Statistics Canada

Mont-Joli Airport (IATA: YYY, ICAO: CYYY) is located 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km; 1.7 mi) north northwest of Mont-Joli, Quebec, Canada. It is the only airport with scheduled service in Bas-Saint-Laurent region.

In the summer of 1940 the Royal Canadian Air Force selected a flat area of farmland between Mont-Joli Station (on the Montreal-Halifax Canadian National Railway mainline) and the Saint Lawrence River for a military airfield. Construction on the aerodrome began in October 1941 and was completed by April 1942 at a cost of $200,000. Three paved runways and 50 buildings were constructed for what became known as RCAF Station Mont-Joli.

Inaugurated on April 15, 1942, RCAF Station Mont-Joli was used as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan for a bombing and gunnery school until the end of World War II. Less well-known was RCAF Station Mont-Joli's critical role during the Battle of the St. Lawrence when RCAF Eastern Air Command used it as a coastal patrol base; during 1942–1944, dozens of Canadian cargo and warships were sunk by German U-boats in an effort to close the critical Saint Lawrence Seaway off to shipping. Aircraft staging out of Mont-Joli were crucial to warding off U-boats and ensuring the safety of shipping out to the eastern tip of the Gaspé Peninsula at Cap-Gaspé.