Blow River Airport

Economic reasons. The airport was a private airstrip built exclusively to support oil and gas exploration activities in the Beaufort Sea region. It was abandoned after the exploration boom collapsed in the mid-to-late 1980s, a result of falling global oil prices and the prohibitively high costs of Arctic operations. With the cessation of the exploration projects it served, the airstrip became obsolete and was decommissioned.

The site is an abandoned and unmaintained airstrip. Satellite imagery clearly shows the outline of the gravel runway, which is approximately 1,500 meters (5,000 feet) long. However, it is in a state of disrepair and is slowly being reclaimed by the surrounding tundra vegetation. There are no remaining buildings, hangars, or any other support infrastructure at the site. The land is part of the remote Yukon North Slope, an area of significant ecological and cultural importance to the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, and the airstrip remains as a relic of past industrial activity.

The Blow River Airport was a private, unpaved gravel airstrip that served as a critical logistical hub during the intense oil and gas exploration era in Canada's Mackenzie Delta and Beaufort Sea, primarily from the 1970s to the late 1980s. It was not a public airport but a purpose-built facility, likely operated by an oil company (such as Gulf Canada Resources) to service a specific remote exploration camp or drilling operation. Its primary function was to facilitate the transport of personnel, equipment, and supplies. The airstrip would have accommodated robust Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft, like the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and potentially the DHC-7 Dash 7, which were essential for accessing such remote northern locations. The airport's existence is a physical remnant of the significant industrial investment and activity that took place in the Canadian Arctic during that period.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the Blow River Airport. The original industrial purpose for the airstrip no longer exists, and there is currently a moratorium on oil and gas development in the Canadian Beaufort Sea. Given its extremely remote location, the high cost of rehabilitating and maintaining Arctic infrastructure, and the protected status of the surrounding Yukon North Slope (which includes nearby Ivvavik National Park), any future reopening is considered highly unlikely.