Amanda Vaughan
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, September 12, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The sounds of airplanes in the night is an occasional fact of life in the city, and one that is a lot less frequent than it was last year, according to Yellowknife's airport manager, Steve Loutitt.

Yellowknifer received a letter in late August from resident Tom Hawes, who was angry about being awakened shortly before 1 a.m. by what he thought was a Hercules aircraft, flying low over Yellowknife before landing.

"I had a hard time getting back to sleep, and the next morning my work suffered due to my lack of sleep," the letter read. The letter also challenged the airlines' apparent exemption from local noise bylaws, and expressed concern about the future growth of the mining industry exacerbating the problem.

"I don't want to seem like an enemy of the current economic boom provided by the diamond mines, but there is a lot to be said for a good night's sleep," the letter read in closing.

Loutitt told Yellowknifer that the late night air traffic had actually greatly decreased this summer over last year.

"Last summer we had an incredibly busy summer for cargo traffic," he said, adding that there were even Russian carriers on contract hauling equipment out to the mines.

"This year's traffic has been a fraction of what it was. The mines had a really good year with the ice road, and a lot less re-supply had to be done by air," Loutitt said.

"This is actually the first complaint I have heard about this summer," he added.

According to Loutitt, the occasional late plane is unavoidable, and it's not always cargo planes coming in after bedtime.

"Certainly people know from travelling by air that sometimes late flights get delayed, and sometimes passenger flights come in as late as 2 a.m.," Loutitt said.

He also mentioned that the cargo flights do run around the clock to re-supply the mines, however they are very co-operative.

"They work with us to show good airmanship, and they land and take-off away from the city wherever possible," he said.

Loutitt explained, though, that there are times when the winds do not co-operate, and the pilots need to take off or land over the city to avoid jeopardizing the safety of the aircraft. While some communities have regulations requiring airports within city limits to cease operations late at night, Yellowknife has no such regulations, according to Loutitt.

Municipal Enforcement manager Doug Gillard confirmed that Yellowknife does not regulate the times that the airport can operate.

While it is technically within city limits, making it subject to the regular noise bylaws, there is no enforcement of the bylaw on the airport.

"The bylaw wasn't designed to affect airport operations," said Gillard. He added that even if Municipal Enforcement were to try enforcing it, they would have a difficult time bringing any fines or convictions against the airport.

Gillard said that his department does occasionally field calls from residents complaining about airport noise, and they pass on the complaints to the airport authority for their own internal use.