La Grande Rivière Airport (CYGL), Quebec
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
La Grande Rivière Airport (CYGL) serves the northern Quebec community of La Grande Rivière with a single 6,500-foot paved runway capable of handling a broad range of business aircraft. The airport lacks on-site customs, placing it several hundred nautical miles from the nearest designated airport of entry, a factor that shapes routing for any international arrival or departure. Its remote setting near James Bay means operators should weight both seasonal traffic patterns and the surrounding airport network into their planning.
Runways
La Grande Rivière Airport has one paved runway, 13/31, 6,500 ft long and 150 ft wide, with an asphalt surface.
Runway geometry from published threshold coordinates. Not for navigation.
Source: FAA Form 5010.
Customs
La Grande Rivière Airport does not clear customs. The nearest port of entry is Saguenay-Bagotville Airport (CYBG), 406 NM away.
Source: CBSA list of airports of entry.
Business aviation traffic
La Grande Rivière Airport recorded 1,192 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in June. Business aviation traffic at CYGL is concentrated in the June through October period, with June recording the highest monthly volume of the year.
Cross-border movements to the United States, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month June, 158 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
La Grande Rivière Airport averages 0.7 days above 90°F in June, 31.0 freeze days in January and 3.3 snow days in November. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 69.3°F, and January the coldest, at 1.0°F.
Weather station is on the field. 1991–2020 climate normals.
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Alternates
La Grande Rivière Airport has three alternates within 100 NM. The nearest alternate is Wemindji Airport (CYNC), 54.73 NM southwest.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at CYGL
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 CYGL.
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 length at CYGL?
La Grande Rivière Airport, ICAO code CYGL, has a single asphalt runway, 13/31, measuring 6,500 feet long and 150 feet wide. This length and width combination supports a broad range of business aviation aircraft without runway-length restrictions for most operations. The airport sits at an elevation of 639 feet. Dispatchers planning into this remote Quebec field can generally treat runway length as a non-limiting factor for typical business jet performance calculations.
Does CYGL have customs clearance on site?
La Grande Rivière Airport does not have customs service on site. The nearest customs airport of entry is CYBG, located approximately 406 nautical miles away. Crews arriving internationally must plan a customs stop at CYBG or another designated airport of entry before or after operating into CYGL. This distance is significant enough that it should factor into fuel and routing planning for any international leg terminating at La Grande Rivière.
How busy is La Grande Rivière Airport for business aviation?
La Grande Rivière Airport, identified by ICAO code CYGL, recorded 1,192 business aviation operations in 2025 according to FAA TFMSC data, out of 7,964 total annual operations. Since Canada is the host country, these figures represent cross-border traffic as tracked by the FAA rather than the airport's full operational count. Business aviation activity is not evenly distributed through the year, with a clear rise through the mid-year months. This places CYGL in the top tier of documented Skystar terminals for data depth, despite its remote location.
What is the coldest time of year to operate at CYGL?
Winter conditions at La Grande Rivière Airport are severe and prolonged. January and December each average 31 days per month with temperatures below 32°F, and February, March, and November are nearly as cold, each averaging 28 to 31 such days. Maximum temperatures in January average just 1.0°F. Snow accumulation of one inch or more is recorded on multiple days across the winter months, with November averaging 3.3 such days, the highest of the year. Crews should plan for sustained cold-weather operations from November through March.
Are there other airports near CYGL for diversion planning?
Three airports lie within roughly 100 nautical miles of La Grande Rivière Airport (CYGL). Wemindji Airport is the closest, about 54.73 nautical miles away on a bearing of 228 degrees. Eastmain River Airport follows at approximately 89.06 nautical miles, bearing 200 degrees, and Kuujjuarapik Airport sits about 99.49 nautical miles away on a bearing of 359 degrees. Dispatchers building alternate or diversion plans in this part of northern Quebec should account for the limited number and spacing of nearby airports.