Mission, CA 🇨🇦 Closed Airport
CA-1132
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10 ft
CA-BC
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 49.127765° N, -122.301961° E
Continent: NA
Type: Closed Airport
Keywords: CAY7
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The exact closure date is not officially recorded, as is common for small, private aerodromes. However, analysis of aviation database updates and the removal from flight planning resources suggest it ceased operations and was officially listed as 'closed' sometime between 2007 and 2009.
No single official reason for the closure has been published. It is likely the result of a combination of factors common to small aviation facilities:
1. **Economic Viability:** The primary charter or private operator may have ceased business, making the base unsustainable.
2. **Operational Conflict:** The location is within the Mission Harbour, an area on the Fraser River with heavy and increasing industrial traffic, particularly log booming, sorting, and tugboat operations. This creates significant safety and logistical challenges for seaplane takeoffs and landings.
3. **Land/Water Use Change:** The lease for the water lot may not have been renewed, with provincial or municipal authorities prioritizing the more economically dominant forestry and industrial marine activities.
The site of the former seaplane base is now fully integrated into the industrial Mission Harbour. Satellite and ground-level imagery confirm the area is actively used for log sorting, storage (log booms), and the moorage of industrial vessels like tugboats. There is no visible remaining infrastructure specific to a seaplane base, such as dedicated docks, fueling stations, or a passenger terminal. The waterway is congested with industrial traffic, and the adjacent land is used for related industrial purposes.
Mission Seaplane Base was a local water aerodrome serving the Fraser Valley. Its significance was primarily in supporting general aviation and local commerce. Operations included:
- **Charter Flights:** Providing access for industries like forestry and fishing to remote camps, lodges, and communities along the Fraser River and the British Columbia coast.
- **Private Aviation:** Serving as a base for local pilots with private floatplanes for recreational and personal travel.
- **Flight Training:** Potentially used for floatplane rating instruction.
It was a functional, rather than historically iconic, facility that provided a key link between the Fraser Valley's road network and the vast, water-accessible regions of the province. The identifier 'CA-1132' was not an official ICAO or Transport Canada designation but a custom code used in third-party databases.
There are currently no known or published plans to reopen a seaplane base at this specific location. The intensive and conflicting industrial use of the harbour makes reopening unfeasible from a safety and logistical standpoint. Any proposal for new seaplane service in the Mission area would almost certainly require identifying a new, less congested location on the Fraser River or a nearby lake.
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