Yellowknife (July 26/06) - More planes are landing and taking off at the Yellowknife Airport this year and the trend will continue, according to an airport official.

The early closure of the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter ice road, the addition of a new carrier company and expanding exploration work are all factors causing increased flight movement said Steve Loutitt, acting manager at the Yellowknife Airport.

Steve Loutitt, acting manager at the Yellowknife Airport, says trying to keep up with the increased infrastructure, plane movement and traffic can difficult. - David Ryan/NNSL photo

"The growth can be attributed to a lot of different factors."

"Certainly the large cargo volumes are the major factor," Loutitt said.

Flight movements in June, 2006 were up by 31 per cent compared to June, 2005.

In May, 2006, flight movements were up by 13.5 per cent compared to May of 2005.

A flight movement is defined as the landing or taking off of an aircraft.

This year, the Yellowknife Airport expects to slide into the top ten for cargo movements in Canada, Loutitt said.

A total of 92,000 projected flight movements are expected by the end of 2006 at the airport.

In 2005, the total amount of flight movements was 80,052.

The recent renovations and expansion at the Yellowknife Airport have helped compensate for the increased amount of cargo and passenger traffic, Loutitt said.

"We've brought in a number of amenities that really make the travelling public more comfortable," he said.

Trying to keep up with the increased infrastructure, plane movement and traffic can difficult, Loutitt said.

"It's a challenge that we've been up to," he said.

The airport staff has been quite flexible over the last number of months, Loutitt said.

The Department of Transportation employs 25 workers at the airport, he said.

Jobs include administration, maintenance and firefighting.

It's estimated that 1,200 people are employed on the Yellowknife Airport property, Loutitt said.

The early closure of the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter ice road has caused NWT's diamond mines to rely more air flights to ship cargo.

Diavik Diamond Mines completed 720 flights from April 24 to July 24, said Tom Hoefer, spokesperson for Diavik. A total of 10 million kg of supplies have been shipped to the Diavik mine.

Ekati Diamond Mine has had 142 flight deliveries since the closure of the winter ice road, typically making seven to eight trips per week, said spokesperson, Deana Twissell.De Beers Canada's Snap Lake has 45 freight flights per week and nine passenger flights while Gacho Kue has one flight per week, said spokesperson Cathie Bolstad.