Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport (CYHY), Northwest Territories
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport (CYHY) serves the community of Hay River in the Northwest Territories, sitting at an elevation of 541 feet. The field offers a 6,000-foot paved runway alongside a shorter composite runway, supporting a mix of business aviation and other traffic in a region with limited nearby alternates. Customs clearance is not available onsite, with the nearest facility located over 100 nautical miles away at CEN9, a factor that shapes routing for any international arrival.
Runways
Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport has two runways. The longest, 14/32, is 6,000 ft long and 150 ft wide, with an asphalt surface.
Runway geometry from published threshold coordinates. Not for navigation.
Runways are listed longest first.
Source: FAA Form 5010.
Customs
Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport does not clear customs. The nearest port of entry is CEN9, 106 NM away.
Source: CBSA list of airports of entry.
Business aviation traffic
Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport recorded 707 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in January. Business aviation traffic at CYHY is concentrated in the winter and early spring months, with January and October showing the highest operation counts of the year.
Cross-border movements to the United States, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month January, 104 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
Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport averages 1.3 days above 90°F in July, 31.0 freeze days in January and 1.6 snow days in November. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 71.1°F, and January the coldest, at 1.6°F.
Weather station is on the field. 1991–2020 climate normals.
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Alternates
Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport has five alternates within 167 NM. The nearest alternate is Yellowknife International Airport (CYZF), 104.70 NM north.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at CYHY
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 CYHY.
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
Where is the nearest customs facility to CYHY?
Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport (CYHY) does not have customs available onsite. The nearest customs facility is located at CEN9, approximately 106 nautical miles away. Flight crews arriving from international points need to plan a stop there or coordinate clearance in advance. This distance should factor into fuel and routing planning for any crew treating CYHY as a border-crossing point. Dispatchers should confirm current customs procedures before filing a flight plan into CYHY from outside Canada.
What runways are available at Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport?
Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport has two runways. Runway 14/32 is paved with asphalt, measuring 6,000 feet long and 150 feet wide. Runway 05/23 is 4,001 feet long and also 150 feet wide, with a composite surface. The 6,000-foot paved runway is the longer of the two and accommodates the majority of business aviation traffic at CYHY.
How much business aviation traffic does CYHY see, and when is it busiest?
CYHY recorded 707 business aviation operations in 2025 according to FAA TFMSC data, out of 2,235 total annual operations. Traffic is concentrated in the winter and early spring months, with January posting 104 operations and October following at 89. The slowest months are June, July, and December, each with 34 to 35 operations. This pattern means crews planning trips to Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport should expect higher activity levels in the colder months.
What are winter conditions like at Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport?
Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport experiences sustained cold through the winter months. January averages a high of just 1.6°F, with an estimated 31 days below freezing that month according to climate normals. December and February show similarly low temperatures, with 31.0 and 28.3 days below 32°F respectively. Snow accumulation of at least one inch occurs on an estimated 1.4 days in January and 1.6 days in November. Crews operating into CYHY during these months should plan for cold-weather procedures and possible snow-covered surfaces.
What airports are near CYHY for alternate planning?
The closest airport to Hay River / Merlyn Carter Airport (CYHY) is Yellowknife International Airport, located about 105 nautical miles to the northeast. Fort Smith Airport follows at roughly 123 nautical miles, and High Level Airport sits approximately 140 nautical miles away. Fort Simpson Airport, the most distant of the nearby fields listed, is about 167 nautical miles from CYHY. These distances are useful for crews building alternate airport options when planning flights into the Hay River area.