Johnson Point Airport

Economic reasons. Johnson Point was a private airport built and operated by oil consortia (primarily Panarctic Oils) solely to support oil and gas exploration in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. When exploration projects became economically unviable due to falling global oil prices and extremely high operational costs in the 1980s, the supporting infrastructure, including the airport, was no longer needed and was subsequently abandoned.

The airport is completely abandoned and unmaintained. Satellite imagery confirms the runway and apron are still clearly visible but are in a state of decay and are unusable for aviation. Any support buildings or facilities have been removed or have fallen into ruin. The site is remote, uninhabited, and is slowly being reclaimed by the Arctic tundra. It is not listed in any current official flight supplements and is considered a hazardous, closed aerodrome.

The airport was a critical logistical hub during the intense Arctic oil and gas exploration boom from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s. Its long gravel runway (approximately 6,600 ft / 2,000 m) was built to accommodate large, heavy transport aircraft, including Boeing 737s (in gravel-kit configurations) and Lockheed C-130 Hercules. These aircraft ferried personnel, heavy drilling equipment, and supplies to the remote exploration sites on Victoria Island and the surrounding frozen sea ice. The airport is a testament to the scale and ambition of industrial operations conducted in one of the world's most challenging environments.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Johnson Point Airport. The original economic driver for its existence is gone. The immense cost required to restore the runway and facilities to modern standards, coupled with the lack of any nearby community or industrial activity, makes its revival economically infeasible. The nearest community, Ulukhaktok, has its own operational airport.