NoneCA 🇨🇦 Closed Airport
CA-0185
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- ft
CA-ON
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 50.133335° N, -89.449997° E
Continent: NA
Type: Closed Airport
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The exact date of closure is not officially documented. However, based on aviation database records and the visible state of decay in satellite imagery, the airport was likely abandoned sometime in the late 2000s or early 2010s. It was listed in Canadian flight supplements in the mid-2000s but has since been marked as closed or abandoned in all official sources.
The airport's closure is attributed to economic reasons, specifically the cessation of the commercial operation it was built to support. CA-0185 was a private aerodrome, not a public airport. Such remote airstrips are expensive to maintain and are typically viable only as long as the associated business (e.g., a fly-in fishing lodge, mining camp, or logging operation) is active and requires land-based air access. It is presumed that the lodge or outpost camp it served either closed down, switched to using floatplanes on the adjacent Kenakskaniss Lake, or found the airstrip no longer economically feasible to maintain.
The site is completely abandoned and is being reclaimed by nature. Satellite imagery clearly shows the single runway is still identifiable but is heavily overgrown with grass, shrubs, and small trees, rendering it unusable for any type of aircraft. There are no visible buildings, hangars, or any infrastructure remaining on the site. It is, for all practical purposes, a ghost airport slowly disappearing into the surrounding boreal forest.
Kenakskaniss Airport held local, not national, significance. Its sole purpose was to provide direct air access for a remote commercial enterprise in the wilderness of Northwestern Ontario. It primarily handled light general aviation aircraft, such as the Cessna 185/206, Piper Cherokee, or De Havilland Beaver, carrying guests, staff, and supplies for a fly-in fishing and hunting lodge. The airport consisted of a single gravel/turf runway (approximately 2,500 feet long) and likely had very minimal facilities, typical of a bush strip. Its operation was crucial for the tourist business it served, allowing access for clients who preferred or whose aircraft required a land-based runway instead of floats.
There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Kenakskaniss Airport. The cost to clear the runway, ensure it meets safety standards, and maintain it would be substantial. Reopening would require a significant new commercial investment in the immediate area, such as the establishment of a new major tourist lodge or a significant mineral exploration project that requires a land-based airstrip. Given the prevalence of floatplane operations in the region, which offer more flexibility by using the numerous lakes, a revival of this specific land-based airstrip is considered highly improbable.
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