Squanga Lake Airport

The closure was primarily due to economic reasons and obsolescence. As a former military strip, its strategic importance diminished significantly after World War II. The high cost of maintaining a remote gravel airstrip for very infrequent, primarily emergency use, was not justifiable. The Department of National Defence (DND), which controlled the site, eventually declared it surplus to their needs. Improvements in modern aircraft reliability and navigation also reduced the need for a dense network of emergency landing strips.

The airport is completely abandoned. Satellite imagery clearly shows the original gravel runway, which is approximately 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) long, is still visible but is unmaintained, overgrown with weeds, and in a state of disrepair. There are no remaining buildings or facilities on the site. The land is not being used for any other purpose and is slowly being reclaimed by the surrounding subarctic wilderness. It is inaccessible for aviation purposes.

Squanga Lake Airport was originally constructed during World War II as 'Alaska Highway Flight Strip No. 5'. It was one of many airfields built along the Alaska Highway as part of the Northwest Staging Route. This route was a critical air corridor for the Lend-Lease program, used to ferry thousands of American-built aircraft to Alaska and onward to the Soviet Union. The strip was built by the US Public Roads Administration and US Army Corps of Engineers to serve the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Its primary function was to serve as an emergency landing field and a refueling stop for military aircraft. After the war, control was transferred to the Canadian government (Department of Transport and later DND), and it served as a remote, unstaffed emergency and general aviation airstrip for decades.

There are no known plans, proposals, or prospects for reopening Squanga Lake Airport. The significant cost required to clear, repair, and certify the runway for modern use, combined with a lack of any local economic or strategic demand, makes its revival highly improbable. The aviation needs of the region are served by larger, well-maintained airports such as Whitehorse International Airport (CYXY).