Air North (4N, Whitehorse International) is moving its flight dispatch centre to Whitehorse, Yukon, making it the first Canadian airline with its entire flight operations offices located in northern Canada.
The airline on June 8 said its new flight dispatch office will provide the opportunity to route aircraft more efficiently by increasing the number of approved flight paths available. The various route options will allow pilots and dispatchers to take advantage of different winds to operate faster flights with less turbulence, while helping to conserve fuel.
“Since the start of Boeing 737 jet service in 2002, Air North’s flight dispatch services have been contracted to a company based in Calgary, Alberta. By bringing this service in-house, Air North will add six highly-skilled jobs to the Yukon labour market,” Air North said in a statement.
“The opening of Air North’s Flight Dispatch Centre is not only a significant accomplishment for the company, but for the north overall,” said Chad Wilson, chief dispatcher for Air North. The airline said its Flight Dispatch Centre would commence operations on June 15.
Air North flies scheduled cargo and passenger services from Whitehorse International, Dawson City, Vancouver International, Old Crow, and Inuvik. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the airline reduced services on its two essential routes (Whitehorse, Dawson City, Old Crow, and Inuvik, and Whitehorse-Vancouver), the airline told Pax Editions. It expects flights to recover in July. Additional routes are expected to include Yellowknife, Ottawa International and Halifax.
The Canadian carrier's fleet currently includes four BAe 748s, three ATR42-300s (including two -QCs), one B737-200Adv., one B737-400, and four B737-500s, Canada's civil aviation register shows.
