Fort Chipewyan Airport (CYPY), Alberta
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
Fort Chipewyan Airport, identified by the code CYPY, serves the community of Fort Chipewyan in Alberta with a single paved runway. The field sits at 761 feet elevation and handles a mix of regional and business aviation traffic tracked through cross-border FAA data, given its location in Canada. Its remote setting places it well outside the immediate radius of major metro traffic, with the nearest similarly sized airports located between roughly 80 and 95 nautical miles away.
Runways
Fort Chipewyan Airport has one paved runway, 04/22, 5,000 ft long and 150 ft wide, with an asphalt surface.
Runway geometry from published threshold coordinates. Not for navigation.
Source: FAA Form 5010.
Customs
Fort Chipewyan Airport does not clear customs. The nearest port of entry is CEN9, 242 NM away.
Source: CBSA list of airports of entry.
Business aviation traffic
Fort Chipewyan Airport recorded 1,099 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in October. Business aviation traffic at CYPY concentrates in the spring through fall months, with October, November, and August posting the highest monthly operations while January and February see the lowest volumes.
Cross-border movements to the United States, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month October, 125 movements in 2025.
FAA TFMSC records a movement outside the United States only when the flight enters US airspace. This is cross-border traffic, not total activity at the airfield.
Source: FAA TFMSC, cross-border movements, 2025.
Climate
Fort Chipewyan Airport averages 1.1 days above 90°F in July, 31.0 freeze days in January and 0.7 snow days in March. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 74.1°F, and January the coldest, at 3.6°F.
Weather station is on the field. 1991–2020 climate normals.
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Alternates
Fort Chipewyan Airport has three alternates within 95 NM. The nearest alternate is Fort Smith Airport (CYSM), 79.55 NM north.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at CYPY
We arrange catering, fuel and trip support here. Supplier prices reach you unchanged; our coordination fee sits on its own line.
The same order, priced two ways.
$2,400.00 catering order at CYPY.
Unchanged.
What the kitchen invoices us is what your quote reads.
One line, fixed.
It does not move with the size of the order.
At cost.
Passed on at the exact amount the processor took.
Market practice figures are industry averages, not a specific competitor.
Frequently asked questions
What is the runway configuration at CYPY?
Fort Chipewyan Airport operates a single paved runway, designated 04/22. The runway measures 5,000 feet in length and 150 feet in width, with an asphalt surface. This is the only runway serving the field, so all fixed-wing traffic uses this single strip regardless of wind direction preference between the two headings. At 5,000 feet, the runway supports a range of business and regional turboprop and jet traffic operating into the airport.
Does CYPY have customs clearance on site?
Fort Chipewyan Airport does not have customs clearance available on site. The nearest customs facility is CEN9, located approximately 241.61 nautical miles away. Operators arriving from international origins need to route through that facility or another appropriate port of entry before or after a stop at CYPY. This distance should factor into routing and fuel planning for any flight requiring customs processing near this airport.
How busy is Fort Chipewyan Airport for business aviation?
Fort Chipewyan Airport recorded 1,099 business aviation operations against a total of 2,010 annual operations, based on FAA TFMSC data for the 2025 traffic year. Since CYPY sits in Canada, this figure reflects cross-border traffic as tracked by the FAA rather than the airport's full operational count. Monthly volumes ranged from a low of 46 operations in February to a high of 125 in October. Traffic builds through the spring and peaks in the fall months, tapering off again through the depth of winter.
What are winter operating conditions like at CYPY?
Fort Chipewyan Airport experiences sustained cold through the winter months, with January and December both averaging 31 days below freezing and maximum temperatures near 4 to 8 degrees Fahrenheit. Snow accumulation of an inch or more is recorded on a limited number of days per month even at the peak of winter, per the source climate data. Summer brings a sharp contrast, with July highs averaging around 74 degrees Fahrenheit and minimal days below freezing. Crews planning winter operations into CYPY should anticipate cold-soak conditions and limited above-freezing windows from November through March.
What airports are near Fort Chipewyan Airport?
Fort Chipewyan Airport has three notable neighboring airports within roughly 95 nautical miles. Fort Smith Airport lies about 79.55 nautical miles to the northwest, on a bearing of 341 degrees. Fort MacKay / Albian Aerodrome is roughly 93.16 nautical miles to the south, bearing 186 degrees. Uranium City Airport sits about 94.09 nautical miles to the east-northeast, bearing 058 degrees, rounding out the closest options for diversion or alternate planning near CYPY.