Havre Aubert Airport

The airport was closed because it was made redundant by the construction of a new, larger, and more strategically located airport during World War II. The current Îles-de-la-Madeleine Airport (CYGR), located on Havre-aux-Maisons island, was built in 1942 as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The new airport offered longer runways and better facilities, rendering the small, primitive field at Havre Aubert obsolete for the islands' primary aviation needs.

The site of the former airport is now an abandoned airfield. Satellite imagery of the coordinates reveals the faint but clear outline of the original runways, which are now overgrown with grass. The land appears to be used as open fields, possibly for agriculture or simply left undeveloped. A local road leading to the site is named 'Chemin de l'Aéroport' (Airport Road), serving as a direct historical marker of its previous function. There are no remaining airport structures such as hangars or a terminal building.

Havre Aubert Airport holds the distinction of being the first permanent, land-based airport in the Magdalen Islands. Before its construction in 1938, aircraft had to land on ice in the winter or on beaches, making air service unreliable. The airport was established by a local company, 'Les Ailes Madeliniennes' (The Magdalen Wings), to provide a more dependable connection to mainland Quebec. It was a crucial development that helped break the severe winter isolation of the archipelago, facilitating the transport of mail, medical supplies, and passengers. Operations were limited to small aircraft of the era, but its existence was a vital step in the development of modern transportation for the islands.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the Havre Aubert Airport. The Magdalen Islands are well-served by the modern Îles-de-la-Madeleine Airport (CYGR), which has a paved runway, instrument approach systems, and handles regular commercial flights from carriers like Air Canada and Pascan Aviation. The old Havre Aubert site is too small and lacks the infrastructure to support modern aircraft, making its reopening economically and logistically unfeasible.