Porcupine Airport

Economic reasons and project completion. Porcupine Airport was not a public airport but a private, unregistered aerodrome constructed to support oil and gas exploration activities in the remote Porcupine Platform/Eagle Plain region of the Yukon. When the exploration projects concluded and were deemed not commercially viable at the time, the airstrip lost its purpose. It was abandoned as there was no longer a need for it and no funding for its continued maintenance.

The site is completely abandoned and unmaintained. Satellite imagery of the coordinates reveals the faint but visible outline of a single gravel runway. The runway is slowly being reclaimed by the surrounding sub-arctic tundra and vegetation. There are no visible buildings, hangars, or any other infrastructure remaining on the site. It is located in an extremely remote area with no road access.

The airport's significance is tied directly to the history of resource exploration in Canada's far north. It was likely built in the 1970s or early 1980s as a critical piece of infrastructure for companies searching for oil and gas deposits. Operations would have consisted of light to medium charter aircraft (such as the DHC-6 Twin Otter, DHC-2 Beaver, or Cessna aircraft) transporting geological crews, drilling equipment, fuel, and supplies to and from this otherwise inaccessible wilderness. It served as a vital logistical link for a specific, temporary industrial purpose and was never intended to serve a permanent community.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Porcupine Airport. Given its extreme remoteness, the deteriorated state of the runway, and the lack of any nearby communities or ongoing industrial projects, the cost of rehabilitation would be substantial. Reopening would only become a consideration if a significant new resource discovery (such as a major oil field or mineral deposit) were to occur in the immediate vicinity, creating a new economic justification for its existence. As of now, its reopening is highly improbable.