Shekilie Airport

Economic reasons tied to the cessation of its primary purpose. Shekilie Airport was a private, remote airstrip built to support oil and gas exploration or other resource extraction activities in the region. Once the project it served was completed or deemed no longer viable, the airstrip was abandoned as it had no other commercial or public purpose.

The airport is completely abandoned and non-operational. Satellite imagery of the coordinates shows a faint outline of a single runway that is heavily overgrown with shrubs and trees. The site is being reclaimed by the surrounding boreal forest. There are no visible buildings, hangars, or any signs of maintenance or recent activity. The location falls within the boundaries of Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The airport's significance was purely logistical and localized. It served as a vital link for a specific industrial operation in an extremely remote and inaccessible part of northern Alberta. It would have handled light cargo and personnel, supporting exploration camps. Operations were limited to small, rugged, STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) capable aircraft, such as the de Havilland Beaver, Otter, or Cessna-type aircraft, which are essential for accessing such remote northern locations. It was never a public airport and did not serve a permanent community.

Effectively zero. There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Shekilie Airport. Its remote location, complete state of disrepair, and its position within a protected national park make any potential reactivation prohibitively expensive and subject to immense regulatory and environmental hurdles. There is no current economic or logistical driver in the immediate vicinity that would justify its reconstruction.