Whitehorse International Airport
Encyclopedia
Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport is located in Whitehorse
, Yukon
, Canada
. It is part of the National Airports System
, and is operated by the government of the Yukon Territory. The airport was renamed in honour of longtime Yukon Member of Parliament Erik Nielsen on December 15, 2008.
Built between 1940 and 1941 by the federal Department of Transport, it was transferred to the RCAF in 1942 as part of the Northwest Staging Route under the name of RCAF Station Whitehorse
. It closed in 1968 and resumed the status as a civilian airport.
The airport is classified as an airport of entry
by NAV CANADA
and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency
. CBSA officers at this airport
currently can handle aircraft
with no more than 50 passengers; however, they can handle up to 225 if the aircraft is unloaded in stages.
The airport has one fixed base operator
for fuel, limited aircraft maintenance facilities. The control tower
operates from 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. local time
, and the Whitehorse Flight Service Station
provides Airport Advisory Service during the remaining hours. ARFF services are also provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In addition to scheduled commercial service, numerous small charter operators and bush pilot
s use the airport and it serves as a major base for water bombers
used in forest fire
fighting operations. The airport also controls Whitehorse Water Aerodrome
, a float plane
base on Schwatka Lake
.
Whitehorse is also a major stopover point for private flyers who make the trip to and from Alaska
.
During the September 11, 2001, attacks, two aircraft approaching the United States
from Asia
were diverted to Whitehorse as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon
; a Boeing 747
Korean Air Lines Flight 85
was feared hijacked
but this was not the case — the plane was low on fuel. Many of the buildings in the downtown area below the airport were evacuated. Those who witnessed the plane's landing saw the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) order the crew out at gunpoint.
The airport's parking lot is graced by an old Canadian Pacific Airlines
Douglas DC-3
on a pedestal that serves as a wind vane
. That particular craft first served for the United States Army Air Force
in southeast Asia during World War II
, before being sold after the war for commercial airline service.
A new addition to the terminal is in the process of being built. It will help alleviate congestion with international flights.
Whitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in...
, Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is part of the National Airports System
National Airports System (Canada)
Canada's National Airport System was defined in the National Airports Policy published in 1994. It was intended to include all airports with an annual traffic of 200,000 passengers or more, as well as airports serving the national, provincial and territorial capitals.Any airport sustaining an...
, and is operated by the government of the Yukon Territory. The airport was renamed in honour of longtime Yukon Member of Parliament Erik Nielsen on December 15, 2008.
Built between 1940 and 1941 by the federal Department of Transport, it was transferred to the RCAF in 1942 as part of the Northwest Staging Route under the name of RCAF Station Whitehorse
RCAF Station Whitehorse
RCAF Station Whitehorse was originally opened by the Department of Transport as "Whitehorse airfield". It is located at what is now the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport....
. It closed in 1968 and resumed the status as a civilian airport.
The airport is classified as an airport of entry
Airport of Entry
An airport of entry is an airport that provides customs and immigration services for incoming flights. These services allow the airport to serve as an initial port of entry for foreign visitors arriving in a country.-Africa:-Americas:-Asia:...
by NAV CANADA
NAV CANADA
Nav Canada is a privately run, not-for-profit corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation system .The company employs approximately 2,000 air traffic controllers , 800 flight service specialists and 700 technologists...
and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency
Canada Border Services Agency
The Canada Border Services Agency is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border enforcement, immigration enforcement and customs services....
. CBSA officers at this airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
currently can handle aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
with no more than 50 passengers; however, they can handle up to 225 if the aircraft is unloaded in stages.
Fixed base operator
A Fixed-base operator or commonly abbreviated FBO is a term developed in the United States after the passage of the Air Commerce Act of 1926...
for fuel, limited aircraft maintenance facilities. The control tower
Control tower
A control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
operates from 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. local time
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
, and the Whitehorse Flight Service Station
Flight service station
A Flight Service Station is an air traffic facility that provides information and services to aircraft pilots before, during, and after flights, but unlike air traffic control , is not responsible for giving instructions or clearances or providing separation...
provides Airport Advisory Service during the remaining hours. ARFF services are also provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In addition to scheduled commercial service, numerous small charter operators and bush pilot
Bush flying
Bush flying is a term for aircraft operations carried out in remote, inhospitable regions of the world. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally large tires,...
s use the airport and it serves as a major base for water bombers
Aerial firefighting
Aerial firefighting is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers are also classified as aerial firefighters, delivered to the fire by parachute from a variety of fixed-wing...
used in forest fire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
fighting operations. The airport also controls Whitehorse Water Aerodrome
Whitehorse Water Aerodrome
Whitehorse Water Aerodrome is located on Schwatka Lake, south of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.The airport is classified as an airport of entry by NAV CANADA and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency. CBSA officers at this airport currently can handle general aviation aircraft only, with...
, a float plane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
base on Schwatka Lake
Schwatka Lake
Schwatka Lake is a reservoir created by the damming of the Yukon River in Whitehorse, Yukon, completed in 1958. The dam provides electrical power generation and is operated by the Yukon Energy Corporation. The White Horse Rapids, which gave the city its name, are now under the lake...
.
Whitehorse is also a major stopover point for private flyers who make the trip to and from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
During the September 11, 2001, attacks, two aircraft approaching the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
were diverted to Whitehorse as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon
Operation Yellow Ribbon
Operation Yellow Ribbon was commenced by Transport Canada to handle the diversion of civilian airline flights in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001. Canada’s goal was to ensure that potentially destructive air traffic be removed from U.S. airspace as quickly as possible, and away from...
; a Boeing 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
Korean Air Lines Flight 85
Korean Air Lines Flight 85
On September 11, 2001, Korean Air Flight 85, was a Korean Air flight en route to Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska ordered to land in Whitehorse, Canada because controllers thought it was hijacked...
was feared hijacked
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
but this was not the case — the plane was low on fuel. Many of the buildings in the downtown area below the airport were evacuated. Those who witnessed the plane's landing saw the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) order the crew out at gunpoint.
The airport's parking lot is graced by an old Canadian Pacific Airlines
Canadian Pacific Airlines
Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986...
Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
on a pedestal that serves as a wind vane
Weather vane
A weather vane is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. They are typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building....
. That particular craft first served for the United States Army Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
in southeast Asia during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, before being sold after the war for commercial airline service.
A new addition to the terminal is in the process of being built. It will help alleviate congestion with international flights.
Airlines and destinations
External links
- Government of Yukon - Whitehorse International Airport
- CF-CPY Wind Vane
- Whitehorse Airport Arrivals & Departures
- Page about this airport on COPA'sCanadian Owners and Pilots AssociationThe Canadian Owners and Pilots Association is a federally registered not-for-profit association that provides information and advocacy services for Canadian pilots who fly for non-commercial purposes...
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