Sable Island Aerodrome, , is located on

Sable Island Sable Island (french: île de Sable, literally "island of sand") is a small Canadian island situated southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and about southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the North Atlantic Ocean. The island i ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The term

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

is somewhat of a misnomer since there is no actual airport infrastructure nor is there a runway on Sable Island. The designated landing area is the hard sand of the island's south beach. It has been registered as an aerodrome (and therefore has an entry as such in the

Canada Flight Supplement The Canada Flight Supplement (CFS) (french: link=no, Supplément de vol Canada) is a joint civil/military publication and is a supplement of the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP Canada). It is the nation's official airport directory. It ...

) in order to facilitate approval of a

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

approach.

Sable Aviation Sable Aviation (legal name Sable Aviation 44 60 Incorporated) is an on-demand aircraft charter company operating from the Gateway Facilities hangar/FBO at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport whose primary role is to provide fixed wing s ...

operates a

Britten-Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...

that makes regular flights to the beach from

Halifax Stanfield International Airport Halifax Stanfield International Airport is a Canadian airport in Goffs, Nova Scotia, a rural community of the Halifax Regional Municipality. It serves the Halifax region, mainland Nova Scotia, and adjacent areas in the neighbouring Maritime pro ...

; it is the contracted fixed wing service provider for Sable Island. Prior permission is required to land at this aerodrome. Prior to aircraft landing or taking off, the Operations Coordinator of

Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...

's Sable Island Station must thoroughly inspect the area in use that day to ensure that it is not too soft. This is accomplished by driving a Jeep up and down the length of the landing area, thereby marking out the "runway". Too much rain will render the sand too mushy to safely land the aircraft; conversely, in the summer, the sand may dry out to such an extent that the area becomes too soft. Although the south beach is not tidal,

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

s occasionally flood the entire landing area to a depth of more than a foot, rendering it unusable for fixed-wing operations.

Sable Island Station helipad

With prior permission from Parks Canada, rotary aircraft (helicopters) can operate from the Sable Island Station helipad .

References

{{authority control Registered aerodromes in Nova Scotia

Aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...