Davis Inlet Airport

The airport's closure was a direct consequence of a major government-led project to relocate the entire community it served. The Mushuau Innu First Nation community of Davis Inlet (also known as Utshimassits) faced severe social and infrastructure crises, including substandard housing lacking running water and sanitation, leading to widespread health problems and social despair. In response, the Canadian federal and provincial governments funded the construction of a new, modern townsite, Natuashish, approximately 15 km to the west. As the community relocated between 2002 and 2003, the Davis Inlet airstrip became obsolete. A new, superior airport, Natuashish Airport (IATA: YNP, ICAO: CYNP), was built to serve the new town, making the old airport redundant.

The site of the former Davis Inlet Airport is abandoned and derelict. Satellite imagery confirms that the gravel runway is no longer maintained, is significantly overgrown with vegetation, and is unusable for any aviation purposes. The entire former townsite of Davis Inlet is also abandoned, with most structures having fallen into disrepair or been removed. The area is returning to its natural state and there are no services or infrastructure at the location.

The Davis Inlet Airport was a vital, yet rudimentary, gravel airstrip that served as the primary transportation lifeline for the remote and isolated Innu community of Davis Inlet. Lacking any all-season road connections to the rest of Canada, the community was entirely dependent on air and sea transport. The airport handled all essential services, including scheduled and charter passenger flights, mail delivery, cargo shipments of food and supplies, and, most critically, medical evacuations (medevacs). It was operated by small aircraft, such as the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, capable of using short, unprepared runways. Despite its basic nature, the airport was the community's essential link to healthcare, commerce, and the outside world.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening the Davis Inlet Airport. Its purpose was intrinsically tied to the community of Davis Inlet, which no longer exists at that location. All aviation requirements for the Mushuau Innu First Nation are now fully met by the modern and better-equipped Natuashish Airport (YNP/CYNP). The old airport is functionally, logistically, and economically redundant, and its reopening is not considered.