Pelly Bay (DEW Site) Airport

The airport's closure was a direct result of its military purpose becoming obsolete. It was built to serve the Pelly Bay Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line station (site CAM-2). With the end of the Cold War, the DEW Line was decommissioned and replaced by the more automated North Warning System (NWS). The Pelly Bay site was not selected for upgrade into the NWS and was subsequently closed and dismantled. A secondary factor was the opening of the new, more conveniently located Kugaaruk Airport (IATA: YBB, ICAO: CYBB) in 1978 to serve the community, which made the remote DEW site airstrip redundant for any civilian or community use.

The site is abandoned and has been decommissioned. In the 1990s and 2000s, the Canadian Department of National Defence undertook a massive environmental cleanup project to remediate the former DEW Line sites, including Pelly Bay. All buildings associated with the station were demolished, and hazardous materials (such as PCBs and fuel-contaminated soil) were removed. The gravel runway still exists and is visible on satellite imagery, but it is unmaintained, overgrown, and unusable for aviation. All air traffic for the community of Kugaaruk (formerly Pelly Bay) now uses the modern Kugaaruk Airport (YBB).

The airport's historical significance is entirely tied to the Cold War. It was a private, 3,200-foot gravel airstrip constructed between 1955-1957 as a critical logistical component of the DEW Line, a joint US-Canadian network of radar stations designed to detect incoming Soviet bombers over the Arctic. Designated as CAM-2, it was an intermediate 'gap-filler' station between the main sites at Cambridge Bay (CAM-MAIN) and Hall Beach (FOX-MAIN). Operations consisted almost exclusively of military and contracted transport aircraft, such as the Douglas C-47 Skytrain and later the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. These aircraft were the lifeline for the remote station, delivering personnel, fuel, food, equipment, and other essential supplies. The airport was not intended for public commercial traffic and was a vital, isolated piece of North American defense infrastructure for over three decades.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening this airport. The original military justification for its existence is gone. The community of Kugaaruk is well-served by its modern, certified airport (YBB), which can handle the region's passenger and cargo needs. Re-establishing the old, remote DEW site airstrip would be economically unfeasible and serve no practical purpose.