Airport comments by @twin

Comments 1 to 1 of 1

Picture of twin

Blissville and Trans Canada Airlines

Here's an edited version of an article that I wrote about Blissville.

The Blissville Airport was built in the late 1930s as part of the Trans Canada Airways system. Airports and navigation systems were built approximately 100 miles (160kms) apart, covering Canada coast to coast, to facilitate air mail and eventually passenger traffic. It was located about 30 miles (50km) SW of Fredericton on a dusty gravel road and didn’t see the first scheduled TCA flight until May 10, 1941 a stop on the Montreal to Halifax route. Evidently it wasn’t too successful as the trial ended six weeks later on June 15.

On July 1, 1944 Blissville was again added to the TCA route, becoming a regional airport for SW New Brunswick, and this time it was promoted with direct cab service both to Fredericton and Saint John. The distance to Saint John was about 35-40 miles (50-60km) SE, halfway being on dirt roads. TCA pulled out of Blissville when the Airport at Pennfield Ridge was opened up to serve Saint John on April 1, 1947. The terminal/operations building was later disassembled and moved in sections to serve the same purpose at the new Fredericton Airport (YFC) until a new terminal was built there in 1963.

Over the last several decades, the Blissville Airport has been used by Forest Protection Ltd. as a base for fighting forest fires and conducting spraying operations. It is now located just inside the boundary of CFB Gagetown with a 4000 foot (1200m) paved runway and a Military Airport code – CCH3.

(adapted from article by George Brien that appeared in the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum Newsletter, Fall 2007)

If anyone interested, I have lots of info on TCA people that worked there in the mid 40's.

gnbrien@eastlink.ca