St. Catharines/Niagara District Airport is a regional airport located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is classified as an airport of entry by NAV CANADA and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency on a call out basis from the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge. CBSA officers at this airport currently can handle general aviation aircraft only, with no more than 15 passengers. History Pre-World War II March 1929 - The St. Catharines Flying Club (S.C.F.C.) completed the requirements necessary to qualify for government assistance. June 1929 - The S.C.F.C. received its first aircraft and became operational. September 13–15, 1929 - Official opening of the S.C.F.C. In 1929, the facilities were described by the S.C.F.C. in one of their publications as follows: World War II - No. 9 Elementary Flying Training School (E.F.T.S.) Murton A. Seymour, president of the St. Catharines Flying Club (S.C.F.C.) was instrumental in forming the Canadian Flying Clubs Association. He travelled to Ottawa in 1939 to meet the Minister of National Defence, Ian Alistair Mackenzie, in an attempt to have the government support air training through existing flying clubs. With the outbreak of World War II many flying clubs, including the S.C.F.C, saw their resources being stretched to the limit. This was due to new members hoping to gain qualifications in an attempt to automatically qualify for the Royal Canadian Air Force. Seymour advocated for the placement of an Elementary Flying Training School (E.F.T.S.) at St. Catharines as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. This goal was realized on 12 August 1940 when the Royal Canadian Air Force Headquarters announced the creation of No. 9 E.F.T.S. to be located at St. Catharines. The school was set to open on 15 March 1941 with an initial intake of 24 students. Shortly thereafter, an order was received from Ottawa announcing that the new opening date was to be 15 October 1940 and that the school was expected to accept 28 students. The manager of the Flying School was Fred Samuel Pattison (previously partner of Haney's Garage) One of the challenges faced by the S.C.F.C. was soft field conditions. To counter this, construction of new runways began in May 1941, which helped to ensure the permanency of the St. Catharines airport. No. 9 E.F.T.S. was formally disbanded on 14 January 1944. When the school closed it had accepted 2,468 student pilots. Of these, 1,848 graduated from the program. The total