Nanisivik Airport

Nanisivik Airport
Nanisivik Airport terminal, June 2006
IATA: YSR – ICAO: CYSR
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Government of Nunavut
Serves	Arctic Bay, Nunavut
Location	Nanisivik
Time zone	EST (UTC−05:00)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−04:00)
Elevation AMSL	2,106 ft / 642 m
Coordinates	72°58′56″N 084°36′49″W / 72.98222°N 84.61361°WCoordinates: 72°58′56″N 084°36′49″W / 72.98222°N 84.61361°W
Map
CYSR Location in Nunavut
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 11/29 6,400 1,951 Gravel
Statistics (2010)
Aircraft movements 464
Source: Canada Flight Supplement[1] Movements from Statistics Canada.[2]

Nanisivik Airport (IATA: YSR, ICAO: CYSR) was located 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) south of Nanisivik,^[3] Nunavut, Canada, and was operated by the Government of Nunavut. Although Nanisivik Mine^[4] closed in September 2002 the airport was in operation until 2011 and served the community of Arctic Bay.^[5] This was due to the small size of Arctic Bay Airport.^[6] However, on January 13, 2011, First Air transferred all scheduled air services to Arctic Bay's newly expanded airport.^[7]

The airport was about 19 km (12 mi) directly southeast of Arctic Bay but the road between them is 32 km (20 mi) and a one way taxi fare was $40.00.^[7][8]

Conversion to naval station

On August 8, 2007, CBC News reported that Canadian Forces documents showed plans to convert the site into a naval station. The plan, which would turn the former mine's existing port into a deepwater facility, would cost $60 million and it was expected that Prime Minister Stephen Harper would make an announcement during his stop in Resolute.^[9]

On August 10, 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced construction of a new docking and refueling facility in Nanisivik for the Canadian Forces, in an effort to maintain a Canadian presence in Arctic waters during the navigable season (June–October). The choice for Nanisivik as a site was partially based on its location within the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage, and as there is an existing deep-water berthing facility at the site,^[10] and a "jet-capable" airstrip nearby.

Detailed planning for the project began in August 2007, with environmental studies and assessments will be being carried out in the summer of 2008. Construction at the site is expected to begin in the summer of 2010, with early operating capability available in 2012. The facility was planned to be fully operational by 2015,^[11] but now delayed until at least 2018.

The re-opening of the Nanisvik Airport is unlikely to be need as a helicopter pad is planned for the naval station site.

References

1. Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 15 September 2016 to 0901Z 10 November 2016
2. Total aircraft movements by class of operation
3. Nanisivik map 73°02′05″N 084°32′13″W / 73.03472°N 84.53694°W
4. Nanisivik Mine 73°02′40″N 084°32′14″W / 73.04444°N 84.53722°W
5. Arctic Bay map 73°02′11″N 085°09′09″W / 73.03639°N 85.15250°W
6. Arctic Bay Airport 73°00′19″N 085°01′59″W / 73.00528°N 85.03306°W
7. Arctic Bay airport opens
8. Arctic Bay and Nanisivik
9. Planned army base, port in North heat up Arctic quest
10. Nanisivik port map (73°04′08″N 084°32′57″W / 73.06889°N 84.54917°W)
11. "Backgrounder - Expanding Canadian Forces Operations in the Arctic". Retrieved 2007-08-17.

External links

• Past three hours METARs, SPECI and current TAFs for Nanisivik Airport from Nav Canada as available.