The Smart Marty Sky Dispatch
Villeneuve Airport celebrates 50th anniversary, looks to future growth
An airport near Edmonton celebrated its past and looked ahead to a busy future as it marked a milestone anniversary.
Villeneuve Airport marked its 50th anniversary on October 28, 2026, commemorating five decades since opening for flight training and recreational aviation in 1976. The milestone ceremony featured a plane passing through a ribbon, signaling the airport’s long history with flight training and aviation activities.
The airport, coded ZVL, is located about 20 kilometres northwest of Edmonton’s city limits and operates two runways. Today it hosts around 30 aviation businesses and provides a variety of services, including flight training, fixed-wing and helicopter maintenance, and general aviation operations.
In addition to its training and maintenance roles, Villeneuve Airport serves an important emergency response function by acting as an alternate for provincial air ambulance flights and as a backup to Edmonton International (YEG).
As part of the anniversary events, Edmonton Airports announced scholarships totaling $50,000 to be distributed over five years to support students pursuing aviation careers. The program aims to promote awareness of aviation jobs among high school students and address sector labour shortages.
Trevor Caswell, the airport’s general manager, emphasized the goal of creating a broader understanding of aviation careers beyond pilots, highlighting maintenance, avionics, technical services, in-cabin roles, and commercial operations as part of the industry’s diverse opportunities.