First Air expands ATR service into Kivalliq

First Air announced this week it will start flying an ATR 42, like this one pictured landing at the Iqaluit airport recently, between Baker Lake, Rankin Inlet and Repulse Bay. (FILE PHOTO)

First Air is expanding capacity on routes in the Kivalliq region, replacing Beechcraft BE99 airplanes with larger ATR42 planes.

The new service started Nov. 15 on First Air’s routes serving Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake and Repulse Bay.

In a news release, First Air president Scott Bateman said the new service is timed to coincide with increased demand for passenger and freight service brought on by the approaching Christmas season.

“With the trending increases in passenger loads and cargo demands, an all-ATR42 service across our Kivalliq network will be another First Air advantage,” he said.

First Air owns nine ATRs. The airline is bringing an ATR in from its Western routes to operate the flights. First Air also said there will be reduced service in Repulse Bay while the company arranges for better ground handling there.

The announcement comes on the heels of a pair of incidents involving First Air ATR42s in Nunavut.

On Nov. 9, the crew of a First Air ATR headed from Pangnirtung to Iqaluit with 13 passengers on board had to shut down one of the plane’s turboprop engines due to a low oil pressure indication, the Aviation Herald reported Nov. 13.

And on Nov. 4 an ATR getting ready to take off from Arviat with 17 passengers on board had its nose landing gear slowly collapse and come to rest on the tarmac, the Aviation Herald reported.

Crew shut the plane down and unloaded passengers while maintenance crews repaired the landing gear.

Passengers arrived in Rankin Inlet more than seven hours later, aboard a replacement aircraft.