Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (May 20/02) - Tuktoyaktuk is getting a new airport manager to handle regional operations for the Beaufort communities.

The manager will oversee airport operations in Paulatuk, Holman, Sachs Harbour and Tukoyaktuk.

The post is being filled by former mayor Ernest Pokiak, who begins his new job June 1.

Current Mayor Eddie Dillon expressed dismay at the selection during the NWT Association of Communities meeting earlier this month.

"It was a new position created after the last election," Dillon said in an interview last week. He said he believes Pokiak's got the job as a patronage appointment.

But Gurdev Jagpal, regional superintendent for the Department of Transportation in Inuvik, says the position was necessary because of increased air traffic related to the oil and gas sector.

He says Pokiak was selected in an open competition.

Tuktoyaktuk had an airport manager until 1996, when the position was cut and the duties transferred to Inuvik.