Pickle Lake Airport (CYPL), Ontario
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
Pickle Lake Airport (CYPL) serves the town of Pickle Lake in northern Ontario, positioned as a gateway to several remote communities across the region. The airport's single paved runway accommodates a mix of business aviation and other traffic that connects this part of Ontario to points beyond. Located roughly 216 nautical miles from the nearest metro area, CYPL functions within a network of small regional airports, with Cat Lake, Armstrong, and Fort Hope airports all within 100 nautical miles. Customs clearance is not available onsite, with the nearest option found at CYQK.
Runways
Pickle Lake Airport has one paved runway, 09/27, 4,921 ft long and 100 ft wide, with an asphalt surface.
Runway geometry from published threshold coordinates. Not for navigation.
Source: FAA Form 5010.
Customs
Pickle Lake Airport does not clear customs. The nearest port of entry is Kenora Airport (CYQK), 187 NM away.
Source: CBSA list of airports of entry.
Business aviation traffic
Pickle Lake Airport recorded 1,495 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in July. Business aviation traffic at Pickle Lake Airport concentrates in the summer months, peaking in July, with noticeably lower activity during the winter.
Cross-border movements to the United States, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month July, 179 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
Pickle Lake Airport averages 1.9 days above 90°F in July, 31.0 freeze days in January and 2.9 snow days in December. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 74.3°F, and January the coldest, at 6.8°F.
Weather station is on the field. 1991–2020 climate normals.
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Alternates
Pickle Lake Airport has five alternates within 99 NM. The nearest alternate is Cat Lake Airport (CYAC), 62.39 NM west.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at CYPL
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.
$1,200.00 catering order at CYPL.
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 CYPL located and what runway does it offer?
CYPL, Pickle Lake Airport, sits in Ontario at 1,267 feet elevation. The field has a single paved runway, 09/27, measuring 4,921 feet long and 100 feet wide with an asphalt surface. This length supports a range of business turboprop and light jet operations. Pickle Lake Airport serves as a hub for the surrounding remote region of northern Ontario.
Does Pickle Lake Airport have customs clearance onsite?
Pickle Lake Airport does not have customs service onsite. The nearest customs facility is CYQK, located approximately 186.75 nautical miles away. Crews arriving from outside Canada should plan their customs clearance through CYQK before or after a stop at CYPL. This distance makes advance routing planning important for cross-border flights.
How much business aviation traffic moves through CYPL?
CYPL recorded 1,495 business aviation operations in 2025 out of 5,852 total annual operations, according to FAA TFMSC data covering cross-border traffic. As Pickle Lake Airport sits in Canada, this figure reflects cross-border movements tracked by the FAA rather than the airport's full activity. The airport falls into ops tier 2, indicating moderate traffic levels relative to other business aviation airports.
When is business aviation traffic highest at Pickle Lake Airport?
Traffic at Pickle Lake Airport peaks in the summer months, with July recording 179 business aviation operations, the highest monthly count of the year. June and August also show elevated activity, at 162 and 147 operations respectively. Winter months see notably lower volumes, with February at 83 operations marking the annual low. This pattern reflects the seasonal concentration typical of this northern Ontario airport.