Gladstone (Costella Field) Airport

The initial military closure was a direct result of the end of World War II and the subsequent winding down of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), which eliminated the need for training and relief airfields. The final closure as a civilian field was due to economic reasons, including the high cost of maintaining the aging WWII-era runways, a lack of sufficient air traffic to justify its operation, and the land's greater economic value for agriculture.

The site is now private property and has been fully converted into a working farm. The classic triangular runway pattern of a WWII-era airfield is still faintly visible in satellite imagery, but the surfaces have been plowed over and are used for growing crops. Modern farm buildings, including houses and large grain silos, have been constructed on the former airfield grounds. The site is completely unusable for any aviation purposes.

The airport's primary historical significance is its role as RCAF Station Gladstone during World War II. It was built as a Relief Landing Field (R1) for No. 11 Service Flying Training School (SFTS), based at RCAF Dauphin. As part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, it was instrumental in training pilots from across the Commonwealth. Student pilots would have used the field extensively for practicing takeoffs and landings in multi-engine trainer aircraft, primarily the Avro Anson and Cessna Crane. After the war, the property was sold and became a private aerodrome known as Costella Field, named after the family that owned the land. In this capacity, it served the local general aviation community, likely supporting private recreational flying and agricultural operations like crop dusting.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the airport. The land is privately owned and actively farmed. The cost to acquire the land, remove the farm infrastructure, and reconstruct the runways and aviation facilities would be prohibitive. Given the likely economic reasons for its original closure, there is no apparent demand that would justify such an investment. The prospect of it ever returning to service as an airport is virtually zero.