Bernard Harbour, CA 🇨🇦 Closed Airport
ICAO
CA-0047
IATA
-
Elevation
- ft
Region
CA-NU
Local Time
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 68.78287° N, -114.826611° E
Continent: North America
Type: Closed Airport
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| Designation | Length | Width | Surface | Status |
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1963. The Bernard Harbour station was deactivated in 1963 as part of an early consolidation of the DEW Line network. This was significantly earlier than the final shutdown of the entire DEW Line system, which occurred between 1985 and 1993.
Military deactivation and technological redundancy. The site was an 'Intermediate' or 'Gap Filler' station. As radar technology improved and long-range systems became more powerful, the need for these smaller, intermediate sites to 'fill the gaps' between larger main stations diminished. The station was closed to streamline operations and reduce the high costs associated with maintaining a remote Arctic military installation.
The site is abandoned and has been fully remediated. Following its deactivation, the station was left derelict for decades. It became part of the comprehensive DEW Line Clean-Up Project, a multi-year effort by Canada's Department of National Defence to address environmental contamination (such as PCBs, lead paint, and fuel spills) at all 63 former sites. The cleanup at Bernard Harbour involved the demolition and removal of all buildings, radar equipment, and infrastructure, as well as the remediation of contaminated soil. The airstrip is unmaintained, unusable, and is slowly being reclaimed by the natural tundra environment.
The Bernard Harbour DEW Line Station, designated CAM-3, was a critical component of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line during the Cold War. Constructed between 1955 and 1957, its sole purpose was military surveillance. It operated radar systems to detect potential incoming Soviet bombers flying over the polar region, providing crucial early warning for North American air defenses. The associated gravel airstrip, approximately 3,200 feet in length, was not for public use but was essential for the station's logistics, facilitating the transport of personnel, food, fuel, and equipment to this extremely isolated location.
There are zero plans or prospects for reopening the airstrip. Its original military mission is obsolete. The location is exceptionally remote with no permanent local population or economic activity (the nearby community of Kugluktuk uses its own airport, CYCO). The immense cost required to restore the airstrip and establish support infrastructure, combined with a complete lack of demand, makes any potential for reopening non-existent.