Nunavut community lands nearly $10M in airport improvements

Hall Beach’s airport is getting an overhaul to improve passenger safety.

With $9,973,000 funding from the federal government, the airport runway will be re-surfaced with new gravel and new runway lights will be installed.

“In the winter it is quite dark there, so they need additional help to be safe. That’s what we are trying to do, improve safety. That is the main purpose of the program,” said Deb Schulte, parliamentary secretary to the minister of national revenue.

Schulte made the announcement Tuesday morning in Iqaluit, on behalf of the federal minister of transport, Marc Garneau.

This work will be done through the airports capital assistance program.

Hall Beach’s airport was chosen because it met the program’s criteria, Schulte said.

To be selected, the airport had to have regularly scheduled service and about 1,000 passengers per year over a three-year period. This was needed to be able to “show that this is an ongoing concern,” she said.

“This is really about safety of passengers, and safety of the travelling public in Canada,” said Schulte.

As far as she knows, it will not mean any changes for the types of aircraft that can use the runway, Schulte says.

But it will help to improve aircraft landings in poor weather conditions.

“It is really to enhance the service that they are already providing,” said Schulte.

“It is also for medevac and economic development; all those things are important factors in the small communities. So this is going to help all that as well.

“I am really just very excited to see the improvements that are going to be done here to help the community,” Schulte said.