Nanisivik Airport

Coordinates: 72°58′56″N 084°36′49″W / 72.98222°N 84.61361°W / 72.98222; -84.61361
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Nanisivik Airport
Nanisivik Airport terminal, June 2006
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorGovernment of Nunavut
ServesArctic Bay, Nunavut
LocationNanisivik
Time zoneEST (UTC−05:00)
 • Summer (DST)EDT (UTC−04:00)
Elevation AMSL2,106 ft / 642 m
Coordinates72°58′56″N 084°36′49″W / 72.98222°N 84.61361°W / 72.98222; -84.61361
Map
CYSR is located in Nunavut
CYSR
CYSR
Location in Nunavut
CYSR is located in Canada
CYSR
CYSR
CYSR (Canada)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
11/29 6,400 1,951 Gravel
Statistics (2010)
Aircraft movements464
Nanisivik terminal building

Nanisivik Airport, formerly (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[edit]

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 Nanasivik Airport is unlikely to be needed as a helicopter pad is planned for the naval station site. However the old runway is not marked with an X and could be used as an emergency landing strip.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Total aircraft movements by class of operation". Archived from the original on 2012-08-26. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  3. ^ Nanisivik map 73°02′05″N 084°32′13″W / 73.03472°N 84.53694°W / 73.03472; -84.53694 (Nanisivik)
  4. ^ Nanisivik Mine 73°02′40″N 084°32′14″W / 73.04444°N 84.53722°W / 73.04444; -84.53722 (Nanisivik Mine)
  5. ^ Arctic Bay map 73°02′11″N 085°09′09″W / 73.03639°N 85.15250°W / 73.03639; -85.15250 (Arctic Bay)
  6. ^ Arctic Bay Airport 73°00′19″N 085°01′59″W / 73.00528°N 85.03306°W / 73.00528; -85.03306 (Arctic Bay Airport)
  7. ^ a b Arctic Bay airport opens[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ Arctic Bay and Nanisivik Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Planned army base, port in North heat up Arctic quest". Archived from the original on 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  10. ^ Nanisivik port map (73°04′08″N 084°32′57″W / 73.06889°N 84.54917°W / 73.06889; -84.54917 (Nanisivik port))
  11. ^ "Backgrounder - Expanding Canadian Forces Operations in the Arctic". Archived from the original on 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2007-08-17.

External links[edit]