CFB Wainwright Airfield 2

The airfield's closure was a military operational decision, not due to economic reasons, a specific accident, or public conversion. The primary reasons were likely a combination of: 1) Changing military training doctrine that no longer required this specific type of austere field. 2) A shift in operational requirements for air assets training at CFB Wainwright. 3) The natural deterioration of the unpaved runway surface, making it unsuitable even for rugged military aircraft. The main, paved Wainwright Airport (ICAO: CYBF) serves all primary aviation needs for the base, making this secondary strip redundant.

The site is located within the restricted, live-fire training area of Canadian Forces Base Wainwright. The distinct outline of the former airstrip is still clearly visible on satellite imagery, but it is unmaintained, overgrown, and no longer used for any aviation purposes. The land has been fully reabsorbed into the ground maneuver and weapons training range used by the Canadian Armed Forces and allied military units.

CFB Wainwright Airfield 2 was a secondary, 'austere' or tactical airstrip located deep within the CFB Wainwright training area. Its significance was entirely military. It was constructed to support large-scale ground forces training by simulating landings and takeoffs from a forward operating base with minimal infrastructure. The long, unpaved runway was used for exercises involving tactical transport aircraft, most notably the CC-130 Hercules, to practice Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) capabilities in a simulated combat environment. These operations involved delivering troops, vehicles, and supplies directly to the 'field'. It was never a public airport and had no scheduled or commercial operations. The identifier 'CA-0889' is a non-official code used by some third-party databases to track such locations, not an official ICAO designation.

There are zero known plans or prospects for reopening this specific airstrip. The Canadian Armed Forces operate the modern, fully-serviced, and paved Wainwright Airport (CYBF / CWW2) on the base, which fulfills all primary aviation requirements. Should a need for an austere landing strip arise for a specific training scenario, the military would likely grade a new temporary strip at a location of their choosing within the vast training area rather than rehabilitating this defunct site.