Resolute Bay Airport is located at

Resolute Resolute may refer to: Geography * Resolute, Nunavut, Canada, a hamlet * Resolute Bay, Nunavut * Resolute Mountain, Alberta, Canada Military operations * Operation Resolute, the Australian Defence Force contribution to patrolling Australia's Exc ...

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, Canada, and is operated by the government of Nunavut. It is the second northernmost aerodrome in Canada to receive scheduled passenger airline service; Grise Fiord Airport, which is served from Resolute, is further north.

Alert Airport Alert Airport is located at Alert, Nunavut, Canada, approximately south of the true North Pole. It is operated by the Canadian Department of National Defence and is part of Canadian Forces Station Alert. A weather station was established on t ...

, the northernmost airport in Canada and the world, Tanquary Fiord Airport, and

Eureka Aerodrome Eureka Aerodrome is located at Eureka, Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via ...

are all further north but have no scheduled services. Alert and

Eureka Eureka often refers to: * Eureka (word), a famous exclamation attributed to Archimedes * Eureka effect, the sudden, unexpected realization of the solution to a problem Eureka or Ureka may also refer to: History * Eureka Rebellion, an 1854 g ...

are both served by Resolute.

Airport

The airport has served as a major transportation hub in the

Canadian Arctic Northern Canada (), colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada, variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories a ...

. Today the airport is an important refuelling stop for aircraft passing through to other places in the high Arctic such as

CFS Alert Canadian Forces Station Alert (), often shortened to CFS Alert (), is a signals intelligence intercept facility of the Canadian Armed Forces at Alert, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. Located on the northeastern tip of Ellesmere ...

and Mould Bay. Unlike some airports in Nunavut, Resolute is equipped with an ILS precision landing system, allowing for large commercial aircraft operations. The

VOR/DME In radio navigation, a VOR/DME is a radio beacon that combines a VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) with a distance-measuring equipment (DME). The VOR allows the receiver to measure its bearing to or from the beacon, while the DME provides the sla ...

is located atop a hill near the airport. The airport is not equipped with radar; however, during 2011's Operation Nanook, a temporary radar installation was used for the duration of that exercise.

Proposed expansion

As of 2011, the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

was considering a major expansion of the airport to transform it into a key base for

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

operations. The expansion would include a paved runway, hangars, fuel installations and other infrastructure. The site would provide logistics for

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

operations according to a December 2011 briefing from the

Arctic Management Office The Arctic (; . ) is the polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway (Nordland, Troms, Finnmar ...

1 Canadian Air Division 1 Canadian Air Division (1 Cdn Air Div) () is the operational-level command and control formation of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Prior to 2006 the official abbreviation for the division was 1 CAD. It is commanded by an air force major-ge ...

Airlines and destinations

Kenn Borek Air Kenn Borek Air is an airline based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It operates regional passenger and cargo services, contract operations in the Arctic and Antarctic and aircraft leasing. Its main base is at Calgary International Airport. It char ...

also operates charter flights.

Historical passenger airline service

Historically, the airport was served by several airlines operating direct, no-change-of-plane scheduled passenger jet service from such Canadian cities as Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Yellowknife. Airlines included

Canadian Airlines Canadian Airlines International Ltd. (stylized as Canadi›n Airlines or Canadi‹n Airlines, or simply Canadian) was a major Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada ...

Nordair Nordair was a Quebec-based airline in Canada founded in 1947 from the merger of Boreal Airways and Mont Laurier Aviation. History The airline operated from the 1940s to the 1980s. Initially, most of its business was international and transatlan ...

Pacific Western Airlines Pacific Western Airlines (PWA) was an airline that operated scheduled flights throughout western Canada and charter services around the world from the 1950s through the 1980s. In 1987, PWA purchased Canadian Pacific Air Lines, and the merged a ...

and Transair. Jet aircraft operated in the past in scheduled service into the airport included

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter ...

and

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

jetliners.

First Air Bradley Air Services Limited, operated as First Air, was an airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

also operated scheduled jet service with

Boeing 727-200 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airp ...

as well as with

Boeing 727-100 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airp ...

and

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retained the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating ...

aircraft in the past. Nordair was serving Resolute in 1964 with

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960 ...

prop aircraft, with twice-weekly flights from

Montreal Dorval Airport Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

via intermediate stops in Fort Chimo (now

Kuujjuaq Kuujjuaq (; or ), formerly known as (ᓲᐃᕙᐅᖃᔾ) and by #Names, other names, is a former Hudson's Bay Company outpost at the mouth of the Koksoak River on Ungava Bay that has become the largest northern village (Quebec), northern vil ...

), Frobisher Bay (now

Iqaluit Iqaluit is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is the territory's largest community and its only city, and the northernmost city in Canada. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on ...

) and Hall Beach (now

Sanirajak Sanirajak (Inuktitut meaning ''the shoreline''), Syllabics: ᓴᓂᕋᔭᒃ), formerly known as Hall Beach until 27 February 2020, is an Inuit settlement within the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada, approximately south of Igloolik. Hist ...

). In 1968, Nordair was operating nonstop service from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

twice a week with

Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation The Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation is an American aircraft, a member of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. The aircraft was colloquially referred to as the Super Connie. The L-1049 was Lockheed's response to the successful Douglas DC ...

propliners, with the southbound Constellation return flights to Montreal making an intermediate stop in Frobisher Bay, with the airline also operating twice-weekly Douglas DC-4 service to Montreal at this time via en route stops in Frobisher Bay and Hall Beach.

was serving Resolute by 1969 with

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, Douglas reworked it after the war to compete ...

service, flown once a week, with this flight operating a routing of

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...

Cambridge Bay Cambridge Bay (Inuinnaqtun: Inuktitut syllabics, Inuktitut: ; 2021 Canadian census, 2021 population 1,760; Census geographic units of Canada#Population centres, population centre 1,403) is a Hamlet (place)#Canada, hamlet located on Victoria Is ...

. By 1970, Nordair had introduced Boeing 737-200 jet service direct to Montreal Dorval Airport, with three flights a week being operated via a stop in Frobisher Bay. According to the February 1, 1976

Official Airline Guide OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the United States, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, ...

(OAG), three airlines were flying scheduled passenger jet service into the Resolute Bay Airport at this time:

, operating Boeing 737-200 flights twice a week from Montreal Dorval Airport via an intermediate stop in Frobisher Bay;

, operating Boeing 727-100 flights twice a week on a routing of

Calgary International Airport Calgary International Airport , branded as YYC Calgary International Airport, is an international airport that serves the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately northeast of downtown and covers an area of 20.82 square ...

Edmonton International Airport Edmonton International Airport , officially branded YEG Edmonton International Airport since 2022, is the primary air passenger and air cargo facility in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian pro ...

Yellowknife Airport Yellowknife Airport is located in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. The airport is part of the National Airports System, and is operated by the Politics of the Northwest Territories, Government of the Northwest Territories. The airport ...

- Resolute Bay Airport; and Transair, operating Boeing 737-200 flights once a week from

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

via an intermediate stop in Churchill. The September 15, 1994 OAG listed two airlines flying scheduled jet service into the airport at that time:

(which formerly operated as

CP Air 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. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian ...

), operating direct

flights from Edmonton twice a week and also twice a week direct from Montreal; and

First Air Bradley Air Services Limited, operated as First Air, was an airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

, operating direct

flights from

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

once a week in addition to nonstop 727 flights from Yellowknife once a week. Canadian Airlines flights from Edmonton International Airport made intermediate stops in Yellowknife and Cambridge Bay while its flights from Montreal Dorval Airport made intermediate stops at

Iqaluit Airport Iqaluit Airport () serves Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada and is located adjacent to the city. It hosts Airline, scheduled passenger service from Ottawa, Rankin Inlet, and Kuujjuaq on carriers such as Canadian North, and from smaller communities throug ...

and

Nanisivik Airport Nanisivik Airport, formerly , was located south of Nanisivik, Nunavut, Canada, and was operated by the Government of Nunavut. Although Nanisivik Mine closed in September 2002, the airport was in operation until 2011 and served the community of ...

. The First Air service from Ottawa also made intermediate stops in Iqaluit and

Nanisivik Nanisivik (; ) is a now-abandoned company town which was built in 1975 to support the lead-zinc mining and mineral processing operations for the Nanisivik Mine, in production between 1976 and 2002. The townsite is located just inland from Str ...

. The OAG indicates that Canadian and First Air were both operating

gravel kit A gravel kit is a modification on an aircraft to avoid foreign object debris (FOD) damage or ingestion while operating on unpaved surfaces. Modifications generally include methods of preventing the nose gear spraying FOD into the engine and onto t ...

-equipped

combi aircraft Combi aircraft in commercial aviation are aircraft that can be used to carry either passengers as an airliner, or cargo as a freighter, and may have a partition in the aircraft cabin to allow both uses at the same time in a mixed passenger/fre ...

versions of their respective Boeing jets on their flights into the airport, with these aircraft being capable of being flown in mixed passenger/freight configuration, and also listed local flights into Resolute from

Grise Fiord Grise Fiord (; ) is an Inuit hamlet on the southern tip of Ellesmere Island, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of three populated places on the island; despite its low population (144 residents at the 2021 Canadian census), ...

, Nanisivik and

Pond Inlet Pond Inlet () is a small, predominantly Inuit community in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada, located on northern Baffin Island. To the Inuit the name of the place "is and always has been Mittimatalik." The Scottish explorer John Ross (R ...

, operated by

with

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada in the mid-1960s and still in production today. Built by De Havilland Canada from 1965 to 1988, Viking ...

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that can takeoff/land on short runways. Many STOL-designed aircraft can operate on airstrips with harsh conditions (such as high altitude or ice). STOL aircraft, including tho ...

turboprop aircraft. As of early 2022,

Canadian North Bradley Air Services, operating as Canadian North, is a wholly Inuit-owned airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. It operates scheduled passenger services to communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Nunavik region ...

serves Resolute only with twin-turboprop

ATR 42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR (aircraft manufacturer), ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aér ...

aircraft. Its sole route to Resolute is from Iqaluit, with a stop at Arctic Bay. Boeing 737 jet connections are provided between Montreal/Ottawa and Iqaluit. Any future jet service to Resolute from southern Canadian cities cannot land at Arctic Bay en route, because it has only a 3,935-foot-long runway. The 6,400-foot runway at nearby Nanisivik Airport was closed to civilian air traffic on January 13, 2011, and is 9.2 miles from the new Nanisivik Naval Facility being constructed near Nanisivik. A key reason for siting the new Canadian naval base there is the prior presence of the "jet-capable" runway, which will now become part of the new naval base.

Accidents

* On March 15, 1951, a

(RCAF)

Douglas C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilia ...

crashed on approach. There were no fatalities but the aircraft was a write-off. * On June 12, 1968, a

Fokker F27 The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...

operated by Great Northern Airways crashed on approach to the airport. There were no fatalities but the aircraft was a write-off. * On August 20, 2011, First Air Flight 6560, a Boeing 737-200 charter flight transporting eleven passengers from

, crashed while approaching the airport. Out of the fifteen people aboard, three passengers survived the crash; the four crew members perished. The extreme magnetic variation in the area was cited as a contributing factor to the crew's errors leading to the crash.

Gallery

File:Kenn Borek Air.jpg, Borek Air File:The Resolute Bay Airport.jpg, Resolute Bay Airport File:Final for Resolute Bay Airport.jpg, Runway 35 True File:Resolute Bay VOR.jpg, VOR station atop Signal Hill about 1 mile east of the airport File:Transport Canada buildings.jpg, Abandoned building, showing its age File:Canadian C-17 Globemaster III.jpg, Part of Operation Nanook

References

External links

{{List of airports in Canada Airports in the Arctic Certified airports in the Qikiqtaaluk Region