Avey Field State Airport is a public use

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 on the Canada–US border at

Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minist ...

, in

Ferry County, Washington Ferry County is a county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,178, making it the fourth-least populous county in Washington. The county seat and largest city is Republic. Th ...

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 ...

. It is privately owned and operated. Also known as Avey Field State/Laurier Airport, it is one of six airports that straddle the Canada–US border. The others are

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 ...

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 ...

, International Peace Garden Airport,

Piney Pinecreek Border Airport Piney Pinecreek Border Airport is a public use general aviation airport located northwest of the central business district of Pinecreek, in Dieter Township, Roseau County, Minnesota, United States, on the Canada–US border. It is jointly own ...

, and

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 Poplar ...

. The airport is shared by the

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and the

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Both

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

and 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 ...

have offices located nearby on

U.S. Route 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road be ...

and

British Columbia Highway 395 British Columbia Highway 395 is a short cross-border spur in the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary in British Columbia. It connects with U.S. Route 395 in Washington , U.S. Route 395 (from which it derives its number) at the Canada–United S ...

adjacent to the parking area. The airport was managed by the

Washington State Department of Transportation The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...

(Aviation Division) until August 2012, when management transferred to its private owners. Laurier consists of the customs office and a post office. Little remains to indicate the thriving mining community of the 1890s. The nearest motels and recreational sites are located in Canada at a distance of . The Canadian recreational community of Christina Lake is north along Highway 395 and the

Crowsnest Highway The Crowsnest Highway is an east-west highway in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. It stretches across the southern portions of both provinces, from Hope, British Columbia to Medicine Hat, Alberta, providing the shortest highway connection b ...

/Highway 3, while Orient, Washington, is approximately south along

History

The airport was constructed in 1962 as an emergency landing facility and was dedicated the following year by Senator

Henry M. Jackson Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson (May 31, 1912 – September 1, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative (1941–1953) and U.S. senator (1953–1983) from the state of Washington. A Cold War liberal and anti- ...

. Its sole runway extends into Canada.

Facilities and aircraft

The unattended airport is at an elevation 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. ...

and covers . The gravel

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 ...

17–35 measures 1,975 by 40 feet (602 x 12 m). It is marked with retro-reflective devices, but both shoulders are soft and rough. Mountains and hills surround the airport and there are trees on both approaches. An overflight to verify field conditions and to rule out obstructions (such as pedestrians, vehicles or animals) is recommended. The field is usually open from June 1 to October 1. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 800

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 operations, an average of 66 per month.

References

External links

Avey Field State Airport
at

WSDOT The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington. Established in 1905, it is ...

Aviation (Includes aerial photograph) {{authority control Airports in British Columbia Airports in Washington (state) Transportation buildings and structures in Ferry County, Washington Boundary Country Binational airports