Carmon Creek Airport

Economic reasons directly tied to the cancellation of a major industrial project. The airport was built by Shell Canada for the sole purpose of supporting its Carmon Creek thermal oil sands project. In late October 2015, Shell announced it was halting the project indefinitely due to a challenging economic environment, including low global oil prices and a lack of pipeline infrastructure. With the cancellation of the project it was built to serve, the airport became redundant and was immediately decommissioned.

The airport is abandoned but remains physically intact. Recent satellite imagery shows the runway, taxiway, and apron are still clearly visible, though unmaintained and marked with large 'X's to indicate closure to air traffic. In 2017, Shell sold its Carmon Creek assets, including the land the airport sits on, to Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL). The entire site is dormant, with no ongoing activity. The airport is not used for any purpose.

Carmon Creek Airport was a modern, purpose-built private aerodrome constructed between 2013 and 2014. Its primary and only function was to provide logistical support for the multi-billion dollar Carmon Creek project. It handled Fly-In/Fly-Out (FIFO) charter flights to transport thousands of construction and operational personnel to the remote site from hubs like Edmonton and Calgary. The airport featured a single gravel runway (01/19) that was approximately 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) long, making it capable of handling large turboprop aircraft such as the De Havilland Dash 8, a workhorse of northern industrial transport. Its brief history is a significant example of project-specific infrastructure in Canada's resource sector and a testament to the boom-and-bust cycles of the oil and gas industry.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Carmon Creek Airport. Its existence is entirely dependent on the revival of the Carmon Creek oil sands project. The current owner, CNRL, has not announced any plans to restart the suspended project. Given the significant capital investment required and the continued focus on energy transition, a restart is considered highly unlikely in the foreseeable future. Without the industrial project, there is no economic or logistical justification for an airport at this remote location, especially with the regional Peace River Airport (YPE) serving the area.