New Kivalliq airline taxis for take-off

Sakku Investments Corp. and First Air are launching a joint venture airline to go after business in the Kivalliq region’s mining and exploration industry.

Sakku First Aviation Ltd. will be headquartered in Rankin Inlet and operate flights from there, plus Arviat, Baker Lake and Repulse Bay, the company said in a news release Nov. 30.

Patrick Tagoona, the president and CEO of Sakku Investments Corp., the investment arm of the Kivalliq Inuit Association, said the deal “is an opportunity for the Inuit of the Kivalliq region to take an ownership position in a key economic driver.”

In a news release, Sakku First said it will “initially” provide air transport to miners and prospectors in the Kivalliq region, which has one operating gold mine, several other mines expected to start operating in the next few years, and scores of exploration sites.

Sakku First will operate using First Air’s Boeing 737 and 767 jets, ATR turbo-props and its Hercules freighter.