Bushy Head Airport

The airport was closed following the end of World War II. It was constructed as a relief landing field for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), a massive program to train aircrews for the war effort. With the war's conclusion and the subsequent shutdown of the BCATP, the airfield was no longer required for military pilot training and was declared surplus.

The site is an abandoned airfield located entirely within the restricted training area of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Wainwright. The asphalt runways are still visible from satellite imagery but are in a severe state of decay, with extensive cracking, weathering, and vegetation overgrowth. The area is now used by the Canadian Armed Forces for ground-based military training exercises, including vehicle maneuvering and tactical simulations. There are no remaining buildings or aviation infrastructure on the site.

Bushy Head Airport, originally known as RCAF Station Wainwright, was built between 1944 and 1945. Its sole purpose was to serve as a Relief Landing Field (RRL) for the BCATP. It featured three runways in a classic triangular layout, a common design for WWII-era training airfields. The airport supported training operations from nearby Service Flying Training Schools, allowing student pilots to practice takeoffs, landings, and emergency procedures in trainer aircraft such as the Avro Anson and North American Harvard. It was never a public or commercial airport and its operational life was brief and entirely tied to the war effort.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening Bushy Head Airport. Its location within an active and vital military training range makes civilian use impossible. Furthermore, the Canadian Armed Forces operate the modern and fully-equipped Wainwright Field (CYBF) nearby to handle all of the base's aviation requirements. The cost to restore the derelict runways to airworthy condition would be prohibitive and there is no operational need for it.