Cape Dyer, CA 🇨🇦 Closed Airport
CA-0077
-
1290 ft
CA-NU
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 66.59° N, -61.5732° E
Continent: NA
Type: Closed Airport
Keywords: CYVN YVN
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Approximately 1989-1990. The airport was officially closed following the decommissioning of the Cape Dyer DEW Line Main Station (DYE-M) in 1989, as part of the transition to the new North Warning System (NWS).
Military Conversion and Decommissioning. The airport's sole purpose was to serve the DYE-M Main Station of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line. This Cold War radar system became technologically obsolete and was replaced by the more automated North Warning System. The new NWS Long-Range Radar site (BAR-M) built nearby is automated and does not require the large support staff or the major airfield needed for the old DEW Line station. The airport was therefore rendered redundant and was closed along with the base it supported.
The airport is abandoned and the site has been decommissioned. The runway is unmaintained, deteriorated, and unusable for aircraft operations. As part of the DEW Line Clean-Up Project managed by Canada's Department of National Defence, the former station buildings, infrastructure, and contaminated materials (including PCBs and fuel spills) were demolished and removed in an extensive environmental remediation effort that concluded in the 2000s. The site is now remote, empty, and home only to the nearby, modern, and automated North Warning System radar dome (BAR-M), which is visited infrequently by helicopter for maintenance.
The airport was a critical logistical hub for the Cape Dyer DEW Line Main Station (DYE-M), one of the most important and strategically located radar sites on the entire DEW Line. Constructed in the mid-1950s during the height of the Cold War, the airport and station were vital for detecting potential Soviet bomber incursions over the North Pole via the Davis Strait. The airport, featuring a gravel runway approximately 5,500 feet long, regularly handled large military transport aircraft, such as the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II and later the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. These aircraft were essential for the initial construction, ongoing resupply of fuel, food, and equipment, and the rotation of military and civilian personnel who manned the isolated station for over three decades.
There are zero known plans or prospects for reopening the airport. The original military necessity is gone, and there is no civilian population, industry, or economic driver at the remote location to justify the immense cost of rebuilding, certifying, and maintaining an airfield in the harsh arctic environment. The nearby Inuit community of Qikiqtarjuaq is served by its own airport (CYVM), eliminating any potential local need.
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