Dawson Creek Airport

 

Until the Northern Alberta Railway (now CNR) reached Dawson Creek in 1931, the settlement was small and saw only occasional air traffic.  One aircraft, a Boeing 40H-4 operated by United Air Transport, took the unenviable title in 1937 of being the first local crash, about 25 miles south of Dawson Creek.

 

 

 

 

 

US Army 341st Engineers stake out camp area near airfield at Dawson Creek, May 1, 1942

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In 1939, Yukon Southern Air Transport (YSAT) was forced to move its aircraft from Fort St. John and chose to relocate to a grass strip in Dawson Creek, at the present site of Northern Lights College.  Three years later, with the construction of the Alaska Highway and the North West Staging Route, the US Army Air Corps took over responsibility for upgrading this field (along with several others along the route).  US Army Engineers set up camp and quickly built up the necessary facilities for a fully functioning emergency strip, including a weather detachment.

 

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The RCAF also regularly used the field for logistical support to communications services detachments along the entire North West Staging Route.  The aerial view from 1943 shows clearly the proximity of the field to the village of Dawson Creek.

At war�s end, the US Army detachment turned responsibility for the field over to the RCAF, who in turn vacated the field.  Operational responsibility was assumed by the village. 

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With the growing importance of Dawson Creek as an oil supply and service centre during the late 1950�s and early 1960�s, demand rose for regular air service to the (now) City. On June 14th, 1958 the airport in town was closed and the existing site opened approximately 7 kilometres east of City Centre.  In the years since, improvements have included construction of a unique 5000 foot long float plane strip and base running parallel to the land runway, paving the runway and construction of facilities including a terminal building and firehall.  (Dawson Creek Airport aerial photo courtesy N727RH via Wikipedia)

For 25 years ending in 2008, Pacific Western Airlines flew scheduled service through Dawson Creek.  West Jet Link currently offers flights to Calgary (as of November 2022).

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