Piney Pinecreek Border Airport is a public use general aviation

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

located northwest of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

of Pinecreek, in Dieter Township,

Roseau County Roseau County () (pronounced row - so) is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota, along the Canada–US border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,331. Its county seat is Roseau. Roseau County borders the C ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, on the Canada–US border. It is jointly owned by the

Minnesota Department of Transportation The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT, ) oversees transportation by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the state' ...

and the government of Piney, Manitoba. It is shared by the rural communities of

Piney, Manitoba Piney is a community in southeastern Manitoba, Canada, in the Rural Municipality of Piney. It is approximately 130 kilometers from Winnipeg and within five kilometres of the Canada–US border. It is served by the Piney Pinecreek Border Airport, ...

and Pinecreek, Minnesota. Also known as Pinecreek/Piney Pinecreek Border Aerodrome, it is one of six airports that cross the Canada–US border and the easternmost. The other airports, east to west, are International Peace Garden Airport,

Coronach/Scobey Border Station Airport Coronach/Scobey Border Station Airport is located southeast of Coronach, Saskatchewan, Canada and north of Scobey, Montana, United States. In the United States, the airport is known by the names Scobey Border Station Airport and East Popla ...

Coutts/Ross International Airport Coutts/Ross International Airport is located west of Coutts, Alberta, Canada and west of Sweet Grass, Montana, United States. Ross International Airport is owned by the U.S. state of Montana and is operated by the Montana Aeronautics Divisio ...

Whetstone International Airport Whetstone International Airport or Del Bonita/Whetstone International Airport is a public use airport at the Canada–US border, in Port of Del Bonita, Glacier County, Montana, south of Del Bonita, Cardston County, Alberta. The airport is ow ...

(Del Bonita/Whetstone International Airport), and

Avey Field State Airport Avey Field State Airport is a public use airport located on the Canada–US border at Laurier, in Ferry County, Washington, United States. It is privately owned and operated. Also known as Avey Field State/Laurier Airport, it is one of six air ...

. The airport, located at , was originally located entirely within the United States. Needing to extend the runway, the owners found it could not be extended south due to a nearby road, but the land to the immediate north was unused. After arrangements were made with Canadian and Manitoba authorities, the runway was extended across the 49th parallel. The initial and extended runways were turf but have since been paved. The airport, located in Manitoba and Minnesota, has both United States and Canada

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

services and is attractive to tourists, hunters and fishermen. Ground access is available on

Manitoba Highway 89 Provincial Trunk Highway 89 (PTH 89) is a provincial highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. The entire road lies within the Rural Municipality of Piney and is long. It runs from Manitoba Highway 12, P ...

and

Minnesota State Highway 89 Minnesota State Highway 89 (MN 89) is a highway in northwest Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with U.S. Highway 2 at Eckles Township, just north of Wilton (near Bemidji) and continues north to its northern terminus at the Canadia ...

. The airport is classified as an

airport of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internatio ...

Nav Canada Nav Canada (styled as NAV CANADA) is a privately run, not-for-profit corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation system (ANS). It was established in accordance with the ''Civil Air Navigation Services Commercialization Act' ...

and is staffed by the

Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and cu ...

(CBSA). CBSA officers at this airport can handle

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

aircraft only, with no more than 15 passengers.

History

An airport for the town of Pinecreek was proposed by resident Eugene Simmons in 1949, to expedite cross-border general aviation traffic. The airport initially opened on July 29, 1953, with a runway terminating just before the international border. To allow operation of larger aircraft, a 1150-foot extension was proposed in 1972. However, this had to cross the US-Canadian border and required extensive negotiation between local and national governments. The extended runway and bi-national airport was dedicated on July 28, 1978.

Facilities and aircraft

Piney Pinecreek Border Airport covers an area of at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

. It has one

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

paved

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

designated 15/33 which measures . For the 12-month period ending May 31, 2011, the airport had 3,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 250 per month. Two aprons allow passengers to deplane in either country and walk to the respective customs authority. Pilots and passengers in Canada need to walk across Provincial Trunk Route 89 to report to CBSA, while in the US, the border station is located on the airport side of

. Fuel tanks are located on the US side.

References

External links

* at

Minnesota DOT The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT, ) oversees transportation by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the state ...

Airport Directory * {{authority control Registered aerodromes in Manitoba Airports in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Roseau County, Minnesota Transportation in Roseau County, Minnesota Binational airports Transport in Eastman Region, Manitoba