Iqaluit to Sanikiluaq flight augmented to gather more data on the viability

Key takeaways:

The Government of Nunavut is augmenting the pilot task by six months.
The flight flies between Sanikiluaq and Iqaluit two times a week.
But the Government of Nunavut and Arctic Fresh Projects Ltd. could not deliver any data regarding who is traveling or how frequently flights were vacant.

The flights from Iqaluit to Sanikiluaq extended:

The pilot task for a direct flight between Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, and Iqaluit has been raised.

Sanikiluaq is the sole community in Nunavut that doesn’t have a standard direct commercial flight within the region. The best way to journey between Sanikiluaq and other Nunavut communities by air was via Winnipeg till the pilot project.

Arctic Fresh Projects Ltd. and Panorama Aviation succeeded in operating the twice-weekly flight between Sanikiluaq and Iqaluit the previous year. The project began in July 2021 and concluded in December.

But the Government of Nunavut has now raised the project until July because it requires more data to confirm the viability of the flight schedule. The agreement for the pilot project can be augmented by six months up to thrice, for a possible sum of two years.

Nunavut government extends the pilot project that is flights from Iqaluit to Sanikiluaq

Ryan Haggan, director of sales and operations for Arctic Fresh Projects, states it was challenging to follow the pilot project outcomes because of COVID-19.

“We have two flights a week, and it can be packed on a Monday and a half [full] on Thursday, so it is tough to collect proper info,” stated Haggan. Source – cbc.ca

Arctic Fresh Projects did not offer CBC with any data compiled from the first six months of the project. In a news release, the Government of Nunavut tells 400 Nunavummiut utilized the flight in its first six months.

The Government of Nunavut supports up to six of the eight seats available on the flight. Per seat prices $1207.50, one way. If the airline deals with four seats, the region will spend two. If the airline sells seven seats, it won’t purchase any.