The West Kootenay Regional Airport (Castlegar Airport) (IATA: YCG, ICAO: CYCG) is a small regional airport located 2 nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi)[1] south southeast of Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada. It serves the West Kootenay region, including Castlegar, Nelson and Trail. It is owned and operated by the City of Castlegar, and has a 15,317 sq ft (1,423 m2) passenger terminal.
Due to the mountainous terrain impinging on both runway approaches, there is no possibility of a straight-in approach. The airport is therefore certified for day operations only, and the glideslope on approach is set to a steep 5.0° rather than the standard 3.0°. The instrument approaches to Castlegar are considered among the most challenging of any in use at a commercial airport in North America.
In 2006, Castlegar airport was developing departure procedures for night time operation, but as of 2010 the airport was certified for daytime operation only.[1] A $1 million programme installed six beacons on the hills of the Columbia Valley that allow night-time take offs from the airport. It is expected that this will only be used by air ambulances and medical traffic.
Central Mountain Air began service to the airport in October 2020 using Beechcraft 1900D aircraft. On June 14, 2021, Central Mountain Air announced they would suspend service on July 5, 2021.[4]
