Sarah Holland
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 07/02) - Plans to expand the Yellowknife Airport are getting mixed reviews from the aviation industry.

While those involved in the planning are excited about the prospect, reaction to the idea has been lukewarm from members of the aviation industry.

Jim Winsor, director of the GNWT's Airports division, presented a study on the airport expansion entitled Reaching New Markets at an aviation forum in Yellowknife in December.

The proposed $27-million construction project would include expanding the terminal building and adding 2,500 feet to the 7,500-foot runway to allow larger international flights to land.

"Yellowknife is not designated as an international airport," said Winsor. "With our current runway, we are limited to the North American market."

When asked where the $27 million in funding would come from, forum facilitator Gord Stewart, of Braden Burry Expediting, replied: "We hope that comes out of this today."

Winsor listed possible funding sources as land development fees, airport fees, enroute alternative fees, government and other.

The study looked at Whitehorse as a successful Northern model. The Yukon capital expanded their runway and thus the tourist market.

An Air Canada pilot who has flown commercially for 30 years, many of those in the North, thinks the Whitehorse expansion is successful mostly due to German tourists who go hiking and camping in the mountains.

He said Japanese tourists visiting Yellowknife are usually on a side trip from Banff. He doesn't think direct flights from Japan would be full enough to make money for the airline. He also says that Northern aviation businesses would lose passengers if overseas direct flights were introduced.

Another industry executive, who didn't wish to be named, said that even if a flight from Japan came once a week carrying a few hundred people, Yellowknife doesn't have the hotel space to service them. Fees for passengers and businesses using the airport and its land would also face increased fees, the executive said.

Other opportunities identified in the study included the potential for Yellowknife to be used as a technical stop for refuelling, aircraft maintenance and emergency services for polar and high-latitude route flights.

The study says about 4,100 movements per year use polar routes, and there are over 20,000 flights per year on the high-latitude routes.

Again critics shot the idea down, pointing out that polar flights are done by planes capable of non-stop flight and the cost of fuel is too high to lure planes to stop in Yellowknife.

First Air as yet has no official position on the issue.

"If there's a benefit to it, then we'll support it," said Canadian North's director of commercial operations Gary Reid.

Bruce Jonasson, general manager of Arctic Sunwest charters, says the principal issue is one of privatizing the airport.

"The government doesn't want to foot the bill of expanding," said Jonasson.

"Show me the business plan. Show me where the money is going to come from."

If an airport authority isn't established, or if the airport isn't privatized, Jonasson says the costs of expansion would be relayed directly to the consumer because of user fees.

"(The airport) would be better serviced in a private or business way, not by government."

Jonasson says the next step in the airport's plans should be to establish an airport authority or full privatization, and then this group could develop a business plan.

The Airports and Opportunities Aviation, Trade and Development Forum was presented in December by the GNWT departments of Transportation and RWED, the NWT Chamber of Commerce and the City of Yellowknife.