Snag Airport

The airport's closure was a direct result of technological advancement and the subsequent depopulation of the site. The primary purpose of the airport was to support the manned Department of Transport (DOT) weather station and the small community of 15-25 staff who operated it. When the weather station was automated in the late 1960s, there was no longer a need for permanent on-site personnel. Consequently, the settlement was abandoned, and the airport, which existed solely for resupply and transport, was decommissioned due to a lack of purpose.

The site is completely abandoned and derelict. Satellite imagery of the coordinates confirms the gravel runway is still clearly visible from the air, but it is unmaintained, overgrown, and unusable for conventional aircraft. The foundations and ruins of the former station buildings are all that remain of the settlement. The area is now effectively a ghost town, a point of interest for historians, bush pilots, and adventurers exploring the Yukon. While the manned station is gone, an automated weather station may still operate in the general vicinity, continuing Snag's meteorological legacy.

Snag Airport holds a significant place in Canadian and North American history.

1. **Military and Aviation Role:** It was originally established during World War II as an emergency landing strip and key weather observation post for the Northwest Staging Route. This route was critical for the Lend-Lease program, facilitating the ferrying of thousands of American-built aircraft to Alaska and onward to the Soviet Union. The airport was staffed by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and later the Department of Transport.

2. **Meteorological Record:** Its most famous distinction is being the location of the coldest official temperature ever recorded in North America. On February 3, 1947, the staff at the Snag weather station recorded a temperature of -63° Celsius (-81.4° Fahrenheit). This extreme weather event made the isolated outpost famous.

Operations at the airport consisted mainly of small to medium transport aircraft (such as the Douglas DC-3/C-47) bringing in personnel, mail, food, and equipment to sustain the isolated station.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Snag Airport. The original strategic and logistical need for the airport disappeared with the end of the Cold War and the automation of weather monitoring. With no permanent population, no local industry, and a modern, operational airport located in the nearest community of Beaver Creek, Yukon (CYXQ), there is no economic or practical justification for the immense cost that would be required to rehabilitate and maintain an airfield in such a remote and harsh environment.