Paradise River Airport

Economic and logistical redundancy. The airport was a small, unpaved airstrip that was costly to maintain for a very small community. The construction of the all-weather Trans-Labrador Highway rendered the airstrip obsolete, as ground transportation became a more reliable and cost-effective method for moving people, mail, and supplies.

The airport is permanently closed and abandoned. Satellite imagery of the coordinates shows a clearly defined but completely unmaintained runway. The gravel surface is heavily overgrown with grass and shrubs, and the site is slowly reverting to nature. There are no remaining airport facilities, such as terminals or hangars. The site is not used for any official purpose and is unusable for aviation.

Paradise River Airport was a crucial lifeline for the isolated community of Paradise River in Labrador. As a remote gravel airstrip, it was essential for medical evacuations (medevac), mail delivery, and the transport of essential goods and passengers. Operations were typically conducted by regional air charter companies using STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) aircraft, such as the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, which could handle short, unprepared runways. The airport connected the community to larger centers like Happy Valley-Goose Bay, especially during winter months when sea ice made marine transport impossible.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the airport. The existence of the Trans-Labrador Highway removes any practical need for an airstrip to serve the small community. The cost of rebuilding, certifying, and maintaining an airport would be prohibitively expensive and is not justified by the community's needs or population size. For these reasons, the prospect of reopening is considered non-existent.