Quilchena Airport

The closure was due to economic and practical reasons. As a private airstrip owned and operated by the Quilchena Ranch, its closure was likely a business decision by the owners. Factors probably included the high cost of maintenance and liability insurance, coupled with a decreasing need for a private strip as road access and the capabilities of nearby public airports (like Merritt Airport, CAD4) improved.

The airport site is no longer recognizable as an active airfield from the ground. Satellite imagery shows the faint, overgrown outline of the former runway in a field just east of the Quilchena General Store. The land has been fully reclaimed for agricultural use by the Quilchena Ranch and is used as a pasture or hayfield. There are no remaining airport infrastructure, such as hangars, markings, or a windsock.

Quilchena Airport was a private turf and gravel airstrip serving the historic Quilchena Hotel and Ranch, one of British Columbia's oldest and most famous cattle ranches. Its primary function was to support the ranch's operations and provide convenient access for the owners and their guests. The airport handled light general aviation aircraft, such as Cessna and Piper single-engine planes, which are well-suited for short, unpaved runways. The airstrip was an important asset in an era when private aviation was a key tool for managing and accessing large, remote properties in the BC interior. The identifier CA-1011 was a non-official, custom code, as the aerodrome was never a registered public airport.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Quilchena Airport. The land is an integral part of the Quilchena Ranch's agricultural operations, which was sold to the Douglas Lake Cattle Company in 2022. Given its long period of disuse and the significant costs and regulatory requirements to re-certify an airport, a reopening is considered highly improbable.