INUVIK - With unusually warmer weather this year, Inuvik's Mike Zubko Airport is looking for a plan to get more grip on the runway to stop planes from being unable to land.

An Aklak Air flight to Tuk prepares to taxi out for take off. Weather conditions have caused more ice than usual at the Inuvik airport which has prevented 15 aircraft from landing this year. - NNSL fle photo

Airport manager Karen King addressed town council Monday night at the committee of a whole meeting with a detailed and lengthy list of how proper friction is created on the runway so planes can land.

"In order for a plane to come into the airport they need friction testing," King said, describing the variables that give planes the right conditions to land, including the weight and size of the plane and even the experience of the pilot. "Basically, friction means braking."

She went on to explain that most winters Inuvik sees temperatures between -30 C and -40 - perfect landing conditions. But when the weather warms to around -20 C, as it has averaged this year, it causes major problems for planes landing. Looking back into her log books, King believes it to be a trend in the weather, and something to be addressed now.

The temperatures are too cold for deicing liquids, used in southern Canadian airports, but it is warm enough for frost to form on the runway, King said.

"And there is no Transport Canada certified deicing liquid for around -20 C, that I know of," she said.

Right now the airport uses a few different techniques, de-icing when the temperature permits and sanding, though not all planes can land or take off on sand, which creates more work to remove it.

Adding to the difficulty her and her staff have had this year, King said there was an uncommon batch of freezing rains that hit in the fall and iced the runway.

King said the conditions this year have forced 15 planes not to land - a massive increase from the usual two to three flights affected by winter ice.

King listed off a few possibilities to fix this growing problem, but the longest term fix seems to be an idea already used in Alaska - grooving.

This is where cuts are made on the surface of the runway so graders can get under and scrape off the ice. King said a trial is being planned in Norman Wells but she would like to get an estimated cost, as well as a success rate for de-icing.

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