Free Republic

The vintage international lounge at the Gander airport in central Newfoundland is a time capsule where Italian marble and designer furniture still exude the faded glamour of world travel. It’s a vast room, its iconic yellow sofas whimsically arranged on a mezzanine overlooking terrazzo floors and sleek blue chairs where VIPs ranging from global leaders to the Beatles once stopped on transatlantic flights. It was opened by the Queen as a showcase of Canadian modernity in 1959. But the growing costs of preserving this cultural touchstone have raised the prospect that a more practical, smaller terminal will replace it. “We...

An unlikely candidate for federal aid, struggling airport faces an uncertain future Gary Vey, chief executive of the Gander International Airport Authority, bristles when federal bureaucrats tell him the town's struggling airport is no longer an essential part of the country's aviation system and, therefore, an unlikely candidate for help from Ottawa. It's an understandable reaction considering that, barely five years ago, Gander, Nfld., was lauded for its role during 9/11, when it provided safe haven for 38 commercial jetliners forced to make emergency landings on its giant runways. In fact, Mr. Vey, 55, says Gander came close to providing...