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Hard Hat North Oil Sands Jobs Guide
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Fly-in fly-out to the oil sands: travel, schedules, and what to pack

Fly-in fly-out (FIFO) work means you live somewhere else - Edmonton, Calgary, or further away - and fly to site for each rotation instead of relocating to Fort McMurray permanently. It’s a common setup in the oil sands, and it changes how you should plan your schedule, your budget, and your bag.

How the travel usually works

Most employers or their camp-services contractors arrange charter flights or scheduled commercial flights from a designated hub airport - commonly Edmonton or Calgary, sometimes a regional airport closer to home depending on the program - direct to the camp’s airstrip or to Fort McMurray with ground transport onward. The pickup point, flight schedule, and whether transport to the hub airport itself is covered varies by employer, so confirm it specifically with your employer rather than assuming.

Typical structure:

  • You travel to the designated hub airport on your own, on your own schedule, arriving before the cutoff time.
  • The employer-arranged flight (charter or booked commercial) takes you from the hub to site or to Fort McMurray, with ground transport to camp from there.
  • The same process runs in reverse at the end of your rotation.

Missing your outbound flight is treated seriously - it can mean losing a shift day’s pay or, at some employers, disciplinary consequences, so build in buffer time rather than cutting it close.

Scheduling reality

Rotations are commonly built around patterns like 14 days on / 7 days off, or 21/7, or 10/4, depending on the employer and role - always confirm the exact rotation for the specific posting you’re applying to, since these vary by company and by role, and don’t assume the pattern in an old forum post still applies. Shift length on the “on” side is typically 12 hours, split across day and night blocks depending on your crew’s schedule.

Because you’re traveling on both ends of a hitch, your actual “days off” at home are usually a bit less than the number on paper once travel days are accounted for - factor that into any plan that assumes a full week of personal time.

What to pack for a 14-day hitch

Camps supply bedding, towels, and meals, but not much else. A practical list:

  • Work gear: CSA-approved boots, appropriate work clothes for your role (many sites have specific requirements - confirm before you buy), safety glasses if not site-issued.
  • Personal: enough clothing for the rotation length plus a couple of spare days (laundry access varies by camp), toiletries, any prescription medication in original packaging with enough supply for the full hitch plus buffer.
  • Downtime: headphones, a laptop or tablet if you want media beyond what the camp WiFi can reliably stream, a book or hobby item, a phone charger and a backup cable (camps are hard on cheap cables).
  • Documents: your safety certifications (CSTS-2020, H2S Alive, first aid - see our certifications guide), government ID, and your employer’s site-access paperwork.
  • Cash/cards: minimal - most camp costs are pre-arranged through your employer, but some camps have a small store or vending that’s cash- or card-only.

Leave anything the camp explicitly bans off the packing list entirely - alcohol, drugs, and firearms are non-negotiable exclusions industry-wide, and getting caught with any of them typically ends the contract on the spot.

FAQ

Does my employer pay for my flight to the hub airport? Usually not the leg to the hub - that’s typically on you - but the leg from the hub to site is commonly employer-arranged. Confirm exactly what’s covered before your first rotation, since this varies by company.

What happens if I miss my flight out to camp? It’s treated seriously - expect at minimum a lost shift day and possibly disciplinary action depending on the employer’s policy. Build in real buffer time getting to the hub airport, especially in winter when flight delays are common.

How many personal days do I actually get during my week off? Fewer than the rotation pattern suggests once you subtract travel days on both ends - a 7-day-off block might realistically give you five or six days at home once you account for arrival and departure. Plan around the realistic number, not the calendar number.