Brevoort Island Water Aerodrome

Military Conversion and Decommissioning. The aerodrome's sole purpose was to serve the Brevoort Island Short Range Radar Site (LAB-1), a component of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line during the Cold War. When the DEW Line was replaced by the more advanced and largely automated North Warning System (NWS) between 1989 and 1993, the staffed LAB-1 site was decommissioned, rendering all its dedicated transportation infrastructure, including the water aerodrome, obsolete.

The site is an undeveloped body of water (Brevoort Harbour) adjacent to an uninhabited Arctic island. The associated land-based military infrastructure of the former LAB-1 radar station has been completely demolished. The area underwent an extensive environmental remediation project, managed by the Canadian Department of National Defence, to remove contaminants like PCBs and fuel from the soil. This cleanup was completed around 2013. The location is now remote, unpopulated, and without any operational facilities.

The Brevoort Island Water Aerodrome was a seasonal support facility for the Cold War-era DEW Line radar station LAB-1. Active from the late 1950s until the early 1990s, it facilitated the transport of personnel and light supplies via seaplanes during the brief, ice-free summer months. It operated in conjunction with a land-based gravel airstrip (Brevoort Island Airport, CYBO) and annual sealifts, which handled heavier cargo. Together, these facilities formed a critical logistics link to one of the most remote military installations in North America, tasked with providing early warning of a potential Soviet bomber attack over the polar region.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the aerodrome. The military requirement for the site was eliminated with the end of the Cold War and the automation of the Arctic radar network. Lacking any commercial, industrial, or residential presence on the island, there is no economic or logistical justification for re-establishing aviation services at this remote location.