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Northwest Regional Airport Terrace-Kitimat (CYXT) serves the twin communities of Terrace and Kitimat in northwestern British Columbia, sitting a few nautical miles south of Terrace along the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. Built as a wartime RCAF base and now run by the Terrace-Kitimat Airport Society, it offers two long hard-surfaced runways, one with an ILS, making it a useful and historically rich stop for visiting pilots in this mountainous corner of the province.
Northwest Regional Airport Terrace-Kitimat, known by its ICAO code CYXT, lies in the Skeena River valley of northwestern British Columbia, serving Terrace, Thornhill, Kitimat and the wider Nass River Valley. Originally built as a Royal Canadian Air Force base during the Second World War, the field is now operated by the non-profit Terrace-Kitimat Airport Society and handles scheduled, charter and general aviation traffic. For a simulator pilot, its combination of a long ILS-equipped runway, a shorter crosswind strip and a dramatic mountain-valley setting make it an engaging destination.
The airport sits about 3 nautical miles south of the town of Terrace, roughly 10 km south of the downtown core, and around 56 km north of Kitimat, on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway (Highway 37). The surrounding terrain is mountainous, with the Skeena River winding nearby, so pilots should expect valley flying conditions rather than open flat approaches.
CYXT has two physical runways. Runway 15/33 is the primary hard-surfaced strip, 7,433 feet long and lit, with an ILS serving runway 33. Runway 03/21 is a shorter hard-surfaced runway, 4,943 feet long and also lit. Field elevation is 689 feet.
The airport uses a mandatory frequency of 122 MHz for aerodrome traffic. Vancouver Centre can be contacted on 128.4 MHz, and Pacific Radio is available via a remote communications outlet on 126.7 MHz, with a further radio outlet on 122 MHz. Runway 33 is served by an instrument landing system, installed in 2002 and replaced in 2015 following earlier reliability problems.
The airfield was constructed in 1943 as a Royal Canadian Air Force base, forming part of Canada's Pacific coast defence strategy during the Second World War. It hosted fighter and bomber units, including the Hawker Hurricanes of No. 135 Squadron and the Ventura bombers of No. 149 Squadron, though harsh weather and limited resources delayed the base becoming fully operational. As the wartime threat eased the airfield took on a support role from 1944, and the RCAF decommissioned it in 1945. It passed to the Department of Transport in 1946 and received its first civilian licence in 1947, though traffic remained light until the 1950s. Growth of the aluminium smelter and industry at Kitimat drove demand for air services and led to the installation of night-flying lighting in 1956. In 1999 the airport was transferred to local control under the Terrace-Kitimat Airport Society as part of Canada's National Airports Policy.
The airport is managed by the Terrace-Kitimat Airport Society, with representation from the City of Terrace, the District of Kitimat and the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine, and revenue is reinvested in infrastructure. Scheduled services are operated by Air Canada Express and WestJet Encore, alongside charter operators, reflecting the field's role as the main air link for the northwest of the province and as an emergency medical transport hub for remote communities. The main runway and apron have seen resurfacing work, most recently in 2024, and the ILS on runway 33 was renewed in 2015 after earlier failures had disrupted operations.
