Jet set for maiden Dawson City and Old Crow landings

The Olympic Torch began the first segment of its tour across the North with its arrival in Whitehorse this afternoon aboard Air North.

A large contingent of VANOC officials is accompanying the torch on its northern leg, which will take it to Dawson City and Old Crow on Wednesday before arriving in Inuvik tomorrow evening.

Air North president Joe Sparling said Monday the company won the bid to fly the torch on this portion of the national tour.

The airline will be making several stops before leaving the Olympic symbol in St. John’s, Nfld.

From there, it will begin its westward swing back across the country to arrive in Vancouver for the Feb. 12th opening ceremonies to kick off the XXI Olympic Winter Games.

Sparling said it will be the first time one of the company’s Boeing 737s has landed in Dawson and Old Crow, though the planes will be used next year as part of the regular scheduled service to those communities.

Both runways are long enough at 1,524 metres (5,000 feet), but up until the summer of 2008, Air North did not have a 737 equipped with a gravel kit to land on dirt airstrips, he explained.

After overnighting in Inuvik, the torch will be flown Thursday to Kugluktuk (formerly Coppermine) in Nunavut, then back down to Yellowknife later that day.

It will travel Friday to Grande Prairie, Alta., Fort McMurray and then Cold Lake.

From Cold Lake, Air North will fly it to La Ronge in northern Saskatchewan, then onto Thompson, Man.

On Sunday, it will leave Thompson for Churchhill, then onto Alert, Nunavut; Resolute Bay, and then on to Iqualuit.

It will leave the Nunavut capital next Tuesday for a stop in northern Quebec, and then on to Sept Iles on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, and then the Gaspe on the south side of the river.

Air North will head east a week from Wednesday to Labrador and Goose Bay, and will complete its contract Nov. 12 when it leaves the torch in St. John’s.