Private Jet Airports on Vancouver Island
Choosing an airfield here
What drives the choice in this area: where the traffic goes, where you can clear, and what you can land.
Overview
5 airfields serve Vancouver Island. Campbell River Airport (CYBL) handles the most business aviation traffic, with 39% of the area's cross-border business jet movements , followed by Port Hardy Airport and Tofino / Long Beach Airport . The area spans the length of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, from Comox and Campbell River in the south to Port Hardy near the island's northern tip, with Tofino covering the exposed west coast and Powell River sitting across the water on the mainland side. Fields range from 27 NM to 101 NM from the area center, so routing decisions depend heavily on which end of the island a flight is headed toward. Customs clearance is available at three points: Campbell River, Port Hardy, and Comox. Winter months bring a marked drop in business jet movements compared to the July and August peak.
Comparison
All five airfields serving Vancouver Island, ranked by business jet traffic. Distance is measured from the area center, and runway length is the longest paved surface on the field.
All five airfields in the area are shown above.
Source: FAA Form 5010 and CBP list of ports of entry.
Seasonality
Business jet traffic across Vancouver Island peaks in August and is lowest in February. Four months run above the yearly average. February sees about five times fewer movements than August.
FAA TFMSC records a movement outside the United States only when the flight enters US airspace. This is cross-border traffic, not total activity in the area.
Source: FAA TFMSC, 3,786 business jet movements across the area, 2025.
Skystar on Vancouver Island
We arrange catering, fuel and trip support across the area. Supplier prices reach you unchanged; our coordination fee sits on its own line.
The same trip, priced two ways.
Citation Longitude, four passengers, one night on Vancouver Island.
At cost.
What the supplier invoices us is what your quote reads.
One line, fixed.
It does not move with the size of the trip.
At cost.
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Market practice figures are industry averages, not a specific competitor.
Frequently asked questions
How many customs entry points serve Vancouver Island, and how far apart are they?
Vancouver Island has three airports with customs status among its public-use fields: Campbell River Airport (CYBL), Port Hardy Airport (CYZT), and Comox Valley International Airport / CFB Comox (CYQQ). Campbell River and Comox sit 21 NM apart, giving operators two close-together entry points on the eastern side of the island. Port Hardy is farther north; it is 92 NM from Campbell River and 112 NM from Comox. A dispatcher routing a cross-border arrival has a choice between the clustered southern pair and the more isolated northern option, depending on the routing and fuel plan for the flight.
What does the seasonal traffic swing at Vancouver Island mean for scheduling flights?
Business jet movements across Vancouver Island in 2025 ranged from a low of 135 operations in February to a peak of 655 in August, based on FAA cross-border tracking. Four months of the year run above the average of 316 monthly movements, concentrated in the summer stretch from June through September. July and August alone account for the bulk of annual volume. Operators planning trips into the area in the winter months are working against a much thinner traffic base than those flying in mid-summer, which affects how much company or handling activity is on the ground at any given field.
Why does Powell River Airport show up as the highest-elevation field in the area?
Powell River Airport (CYPW) sits at 425 ft elevation, the highest among the public-use airports that make up the Vancouver Island area. That is a modest figure in absolute terms, but it is notable next to Port Hardy Airport (CYZT) at 71 ft and Comox Valley International Airport / CFB Comox (CYQQ) at 84 ft, both close to sea level. The difference has no bearing on runway length or customs access at Powell River, which carries neither, but it is a data point worth noting for density altitude and performance planning on warmer days.
How does runway length vary among the airports near Vancouver Island?
None of the public-use airports in the Vancouver Island area reach 6,000 ft, though paved runway lengths vary. Port Hardy Airport (CYZT) has the longest public-use runway at 5,000 ft, matched by Tofino / Long Beach Airport (CYAZ) at the same length. Campbell River Airport (CYBL) offers 6,499 ft of paved surface, longer than either of those two, though it falls outside the airports counted in the area's top runway figures due to its facility classification. Powell River Airport (CYPW) has the shortest paved runway in the group at 3,627 ft. Operators should match the specific field to their aircraft's runway requirement rather than assume uniform capability across the area.
Which airport in the Vancouver Island area handles the largest share of business jet traffic, and how concentrated is that share?
Campbell River Airport (CYBL) accounts for 38% of the 3,786 annual business jet movements recorded across the Vancouver Island area in 2025. That leaves the remaining 62% spread across the other four airfields, including Port Hardy Airport (CYZT) and Tofino / Long Beach Airport (CYAZ), each handling a smaller slice individually. For a dispatcher weighing traffic density against ramp availability, this means Campbell River carries the single largest concentration of movements, while the rest of the area's volume is distributed more thinly across the remaining fields.