IQALUIT - A number of adventure pilots might have to change their flight plans as the Iqaluit airport is out of aviation gasoline, a situation that is not expected to affect commercial flights.

The Iqaluit airport is out of aviation gas. This will not affect commercial flights but adventure pilots might have to change their travel plans. - NNSL file photo

Aircrafts using aviation gas or avgas have reciprocating (piston) engines, as opposed to turbine engines that use jet fuel. Avgas aircrafts may include some Beavers, Cessnas, aircrafts monitoring forest fires or helicopters used by a number of media outlets to track circulation.

"A NOTAM (notice to airmen) has been issued advising that until the refueller brings some more in on the boat, there is none available," said Iqaluit airport manager John Graham. "But this affects a minimal amount of aircraft. It's a fueller issue more than an airport issue."

Iqaluit-based Uqsuq is the main distributor of aviation fuel in the territory. Its general manager, Chris Cote, said this is the first time in the three year's he has been there the Iqaluit airport has run out of avgas.

"We are out of aviation gasoline at the airport. I know we've run low before but this is the first time we've run out," he said.

He added more gasoline will arrive with the sealift, expected early this summer.

Uqsuq typically has 250 drums, each containing 205 litres of avgas, at the Iqaluit airport, said Cote. But the federal government performed aerial surveys using about 400 to 500 drums of avgas, something he added they didn't know when they made the order.

"Normally, we sell only about 160 (to) 170 drums a year. Last year, we sold over 400. We didn't expect that much activity in Iqaluit. Nobody told us about any plans. We couldn't forecast it. We didn't know," he said.

"I know it's inconvenient to some people who choose to come through Iqaluit but it's something we couldn't foresee."

Florida-based Air Journey is expected to guide a group of at least nine air planes to Iceland in June. With the shortage of avgas in Iqaluit, company president Thierry Pouille said they might have to refuel in Kuujjuaq, Que. instead.

"Obviously that's a problem because the air plane will need fuel to go over to Greenland and Iceland and then when we return, they will need fuel to come back," he said.

But with an ash-spewing volcano in Iceland, Pouille said the company might need to change its plans altogether.

"I might have to scrap the journey, not because of the lack of avgas, but because of the problem with the volcano," he said. "It (Iqaluit) is always a very nice, enjoyable stop. The only thing we're not going to miss is the big mosquitoes."