By Rajitha Sivakumaran
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P
angnirtung is a small town located
on Baffin Island, Nunavut. With a
population of approximately 1,500
people, this Inuit hamlet sits amongst
beautiful snow-capped mountains, largely
isolated from the rest of Canada. Once
upon a time, these mountains prohibited
the transportation of people and vital car-
go via air.
Things changed when the Director of Flight
Operations, Captain Aaron Speer, of First
Air designed an approach that enabled the
ATR 42 to land safely, while simultaneous-
ly maximizing payloads to carry both pas-
sengers and cargo. First Air, deemed the
Airline of the North, is indeed a life-altering
force in the snow-locked areas of Northern
Canada.
“It’s still one of the most challenging air-
ports we operate in,” Dr. Brock Friesen,
First Air’s CEO, said. “But it’s a unique ap-
proach and First Air can be proud of having
designed that approach and being able to
fly into Pangnirtung every day.”
Pangnirtung is just one of the 29 northern
communities First Air serves across the
Photo credit - Mark Taylor
APRIL 2016
H
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