Edmonton International Airport (YEG) will reinstate its Air Canada connection to Yellowknife Airport (YZF) in the Northwest Territories on June 17th. The airline abandoned the route in October last year, shortly followed by its Yellowknife to Calgary flight.

The connection between Edmonton and Yellowknife is crucial. Before 2006 access between the two cities was only by air, ice road, or boat (across Great Slave Lake). The 1450-kilometer (900 miles) trip would usually take 15 hours by car vs. two hours by air.

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Connecting Alberta to the Northwest Territories

With Air Canada ditching Calgary and Edmonton from Yellowknife last year, other airlines remain available to travelers. Westjet Encore (the regional arm of Calgary-based Westjet) operates flights between Edmonton and Calgary direct to Yellowknife multiple times a week.

Canadian North will also commence operations between Yellowknife and Calgary from February 14, improving much-needed capacity between the two regions.

Separately, Air Canada operates between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and plans to increase the frequency of the service from June 18th.

Yellowknife Airport

Classed as an 'Airport of Entry' by NAV Canada (can accept international arrivals), the airport is home to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which can handle international arrivals from general aviation of up to 15 passengers (no scheduled Airbus A380 arrivals here sorry).

Built by Canadian Pacific Airlines in 1944, the airport was sold to Trasport Canada in 1946. A new terminal was built between 1963 and 1972, with its most recent renovation in 2005-2006.

Yellowknife, with a population of 20,000, is the largest community in the Northwest Territories and is 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of the Arctic Circle. Mining has played a vital part in the province's economy and has recently pivoted into natural gas exploration.

Yellowknife's Airport plays an essential connection for locals, with connections to an extensive range of Inuit communities and mines. In addition to operations to most major Canadian airports, Yellowknife connects travelers to:

Air Canada Express

• Edmonton (from June 17)
• Vancouver

Air North

• Ottawa
• Toronto–Pearson
• Whitehorse

Air Tindi

• Fort Simpson
• Gamèti
• Hay River
• Lutselk'e
• Wekweètì
• Whatì

Canadian North

• Calgary (from February 14)
• Cambridge Bay
• Edmonton
• Fort Simpson
• Gjoa Haven
• Hay River
• Inuvik
• Iqaluit
• Kugaaruk
• Kugluktuk
• Norman Wells
• Rankin Inlet
• Taloyoak
• Ulukhaktok

Northwestern Air

• Fort Smith

North-Wright Airways

• Colville Lake
• Déline
• Fort Good Hope
• Norman Wells
• Tulita

WestJet Encore

• Calgary
• Edmonton

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Demand to the northern provinces of Canada

Confirmed in an email to Cabin Radio, Donna Lee Demarcke from Northwest Territories Tourism stated: "We continue to have ongoing conversations with several airline partners in an effort to increase air access to the NWT (Northwest Territories)."

Neighbouring Yukon airport, Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport (YXY), has a similar range of domestic connections and even featured Condor providing an international link from Frankfurt in the past.

Iqaluit Airport (YFB) also plays its part in connecting the province of Nunavut. Operating to key cities in Canada, the Airport is sometimes used as a cold weather testing facility by Airbus for its A380. International flights were also featured briefly when Air Greenland operated from Nuuk (GOH). This was discontinued in 2015.

Source: Cabin Radio

• 

  Air Canada

  Loyalty Program:

  Aeroplan

• 

  WestJet

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  WS/WJA

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Calgary International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport

  Year Founded:

  1994

  CEO:

  Alexis von Hoensbroech

  Country:

  Canada