Flying among the stars

KIRSTEN MURPHY

Two pilots employed by Unaalik Aviation, Nunavut’s only Inuit-owned charter airline, landed in Antarctica last month — an accomplishment that could make them the first Canadian women to land on the southern continental shelf.

Amy McInnes and Zoe Lambert of Yellowknife landed a de Havilland Twin Otter in an area called Patriot Hills on Dec. 30. Their arrival launched a four-month contract with an American company called Adventure-Network International to fly wealthy tourists in and around the South Pole. Clients pay about $25,000 per person for a 10-day trip.

There is no record of a similar landing with the Canadian Aeronautical and Space Agency or with Transport Canada. The absence of such records may, however, be because such statistics are simply not kept, said James Berry, communications officer with Transport Canada.

Nevertheless, Jimi Onalik, owner of Unaalik Aviation, was pleased with his crew’s work in the south — a plum contract 10 months into the company’s first year of operation.

“We’re a new company but we’ve got lots of experienced pilots,” Onalik said from his Iqaluit office.

McInnes and Lambert have logged hundreds of hours flying around the High Arctic and North Pole.

“Down there, there are no airstrips. It’s all [ice] and our airplane is on straight skis,” Onalik said. “Compared to Nunavut, it’s much more remote. We’re flying these long distances with no nearby communities. And the weather is colder and windier.”

Unaalik Aviation is certainly not the first airline to fly the Antarctic. First Air, which is also Inuit-owned, and Kenn Borek Airlines, have flown in the region for years.

Kenn Borek made headlines in April 2002 when two male pilots captained a de Havilland Twin Otter to Antarctica and rescued a dying scientist. It was the first time a flight to the South Pole had been made in April — when temperatures of -56 C and high winds are typical.