Photo: Iqaluit airport costs driving up cargo fees

Marc Dubeau, owner of Baffin Island Canners Ltd., poses in his store June 17 with a letter he received from First Air June 16 about a temporary increase to cargo rates for all cargo landing in Iqaluit. When construction begins on the Iqaluit airport runway on July 6, First Air will charge an additional $0.32 per kilogram for all cargo coming to or through Iqaluit, the letter from the airline says. That’s because runway construction will force the airline to use smaller planes, “resulting in higher operating costs per kilogram,” a First Air news release said, adding they expect those fees to be in effect until the runway is completed, likely in the first week of August 2015. Added freight costs will have a “big impact” on local businesses, including his own, Dubeau said. Read more later on nunatsiaqonline.ca (PHOTO THOMAS ROHNER)