Port Hawkesbury Airport (CYPD), Nova Scotia
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
Port Hawkesbury Airport, identified by ICAO code CYPD and IATA code YPS, serves the town of Port Hawkesbury on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. The airport sits roughly 90 nautical miles from the nearest metro area and operates a single paved runway suited to business aviation traffic. As an AOE/15 port of entry, it offers onsite customs clearance for arriving flights within the limits of that designation. FAA TFMSC data classifies this facility among the busier tier-one airports tracked for cross-border business aviation activity.
Runways
Port Hawkesbury Airport has one paved runway, 11/29, 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
Port Hawkesbury Airport has Canada Border Services Agency clearance available onsite, under a restricted regime rather than general clearance. The terms that apply to a given flight must be confirmed before departure.
Source: CBSA list of airports of entry.
Business aviation traffic
Port Hawkesbury Airport recorded 983 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in August. Business aviation traffic at Port Hawkesbury Airport concentrates heavily in the summer months, with June through September accounting for the large majority of annual operations recorded in the data.
Cross-border movements to the United States, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month August, 268 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
August is the warmest month, with average highs of 74.3°F, and February the coldest, at 28.2°F.
Weather station is on the field. 1991–2020 climate normals.
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Alternates
Port Hawkesbury Airport has five alternates within 90 NM. The nearest alternate is Trenton Airport (CYTN), 52.67 NM west.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at CYPD
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 CYPD.
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 CYPD and where is it located?
CYPD, also known as Port Hawkesbury Airport, serves the community of Port Hawkesbury in Nova Scotia, Canada. The field sits at 377 feet elevation and lies roughly 90 nautical miles from the nearest major metro area. It handles a mix of business aviation traffic through a single runway. FAA TFMSC data records 983 cross-border business aviation operations there in 2025. Dispatchers routing through the Maritimes will find it positioned among several regional airports in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
What runway is available at Port Hawkesbury Airport?
Port Hawkesbury Airport operates a single paved runway, designated 11/29. It measures 5,000 feet in length and 150 feet in width, with an asphalt surface. This length matches the airport's maximum published paved distance, meaning no other runway offers a longer option for larger aircraft. Crews planning operations at CYPD should treat this runway as the sole paved option for arrival and departure planning.
Does CYPD have customs service on site?
Yes, Port Hawkesbury Airport, identified by ICAO code CYPD, offers onsite customs clearance. The airport is designated as an AOE/15 port of entry, meaning customs processing is limited to a maximum of fifteen persons per aircraft. Dispatchers arranging international arrivals need to confirm passenger and crew counts stay within that fifteen-person cap before filing a customs notification. This designation applies specifically to the AOE/15 category rather than a full-service, unrestricted customs operation.
When is business aviation traffic busiest at Port Hawkesbury Airport?
Business aviation traffic at Port Hawkesbury Airport, CYPD, concentrates heavily in the summer months. Monthly operations recorded by FAA TFMSC data climb from single digits in winter to 174 in June, 219 in July, and a peak of 268 in August, before falling back to 177 in September. The remaining months of the year see comparatively light activity, generally under 50 operations each. Dispatchers scheduling flights into CYPD should anticipate higher volume and potential congestion during the June through September window.
How does temperature vary through the year at CYPD?
Average high temperatures at Port Hawkesbury Airport range widely across the seasons. Winter months bottom out near 28 degrees Fahrenheit in January and February, while August peaks at an average high of 74.3 degrees Fahrenheit. Spring and fall show a steady transition, with April averaging 44.2 degrees and October averaging 55.8 degrees. These figures give crews a general sense of seasonal temperature swings at CYPD when planning ground operations and aircraft performance calculations.