NoneCA 🇨🇦 Closed Airport
CA-0232
-
- ft
CA-NT
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 62.5° N, -116.48333° E
Continent: NA
Type: Closed Airport
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The exact date of closure is unknown. The airport was a utility airstrip likely built to support the construction of the Mackenzie Highway in the mid-20th century. It would have fallen into disuse after the highway's completion and was likely officially delisted from aviation publications in the late 20th or early 21st century. It has been inactive for several decades.
Economic redundancy and obsolescence. The airstrip's primary purpose was to provide logistical support (transporting personnel, supplies, and light equipment) for the construction and maintenance of the adjacent Mackenzie Highway. Once the all-weather highway was completed and fully operational, direct road access made the airstrip unnecessary for its original function. There was no other sustained economic activity in the immediate vicinity to justify the cost of its maintenance and operation.
The site is completely abandoned. Satellite imagery of the coordinates shows a clear, straight clearing in the forest immediately adjacent to the west side of the Mackenzie Highway, which is the remnant of the gravel/dirt runway. The runway outline is still visible but is becoming overgrown with shrubs and small trees. There are no remaining buildings, hangars, or any aviation infrastructure on the site. It is not being used for any other purpose and is slowly being reclaimed by the surrounding boreal forest.
The airport's significance was purely logistical and local. It was one of many small, rudimentary airstrips built across the Canadian North to support major infrastructure projects. When active, it would have handled small bush planes, such as the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver or Cessna 180/185, which are capable of operating from short, unpaved surfaces. Its operations were critical for the construction phase of this section of the Mackenzie Highway, providing a vital link to supplies and emergency services before reliable ground transportation existed. It was never a public commercial airport or a military installation.
There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the Mile 129 Mackenzie Highway Airport. Its remote location, state of disrepair, and the efficiency of the adjacent highway for transportation make its reactivation economically and logistically unviable. Larger, fully-serviced airports exist in the region (e.g., in Yellowknife and Fort Providence) to serve any regional aviation needs.