Airport to receive major improvement

A secondary runway at the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport will receive a facelift in 2022.

By Whitehorse Star on December 16, 2021

A secondary runway at the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport will receive a facelift in 2022.

The Yukon government is planning on extending the runway known as 14L-32R by 1,281 feet to bring it closer to the standard for international airports.

The runway is currently 5,317 feet, which a government report says curtails its usefulness.

The airstrip, built in 1941, is one of three runways at the airport.

The primary runway for the airport is the secondary runway. It’s 9,500 feet.

Lengthening the 14L-32R airstrip will make it comparable to the third strip, which currently serves as the backup for the main runway.

“By having two functional runways, it allow for better operations, as the unused runway can be an alternative in times of need,” the report says.

The work is expected to begin in March 2022 and finish in September.

The renovated runway will be 6,598 feet.

Since the project is out to tender, the cost of the work is not yet known.

Comments (9)

Up 7 Down 5

Vlad on Dec 20, 2021 at 2:48 pm

I thought that Canada is a metric country. Perhaps not,

Up 9 Down 15

Airport User on Dec 20, 2021 at 11:25 am

We are going to need another runway, for sure.
I returned on an Air North flight yesterday which was about 50% full of Asians (at a time when people are not supposed to travel internationally). I thought I was at the wrong gate for a few minutes. Not many of them could understand the boarding directions... rows 26 and up, etc. It was the most painful (and aggressive) boarding exercise I've ever witnessed.
Best to start planning to make all airport signs in Mandarin while we're at it.
The fabric of Canada, and especially the Yukon, is changing rapidly. What I wouldn't give to go back in time.

Up 11 Down 1

bonanzajoe on Dec 17, 2021 at 3:12 pm

Corey, back in the 70s, there was a daily run back and forth to
Alaska. I think it was Alaska Air.

Up 25 Down 8

Corey on Dec 17, 2021 at 12:18 pm

Hopefully one day we will be able to get direct flights to Anchorage. Would be nice. It’s very close, and could serve as an alternative “biggish” city for people to get away to for the weekend for some shopping!

Up 39 Down 5

David Griffiths on Dec 17, 2021 at 8:11 am

Huh? "The primary runway for the airport is the secondary runway".
The secondary runway is getting a facelift.
The primary runway is a secondary runway.
A third strip currently serves as a back up to the main strip.
Did we just get a free extra runway or was all this just poorly explained (rhetorical question)

Up 22 Down 6

Ice on Dec 16, 2021 at 7:59 pm

This is nice to see as we live in a fast growing city. Infrastructure investments like these are always good in the long run even if they are a pain in the butt over the construction season.

Up 14 Down 19

bonanzajoe on Dec 16, 2021 at 7:57 pm

So, outside of the small planes of Air North and Air Canada, who are they expecting to use them?

Up 14 Down 7

Casa loma on Dec 16, 2021 at 4:45 pm

Still calling it Erik Nielsen Whitehorse international airport. It should just be named it Erik Nielsen international airport. I guess 90% of people don't know about Whitehorse Yukon. lol

Up 40 Down 20

Vern Schlimbesser on Dec 16, 2021 at 2:11 pm

"Three runways" ? Well, sort of, but they tried repeatedly to close one of those, and shortened both that one and the one they now want to lengthen to get us to this mess.
Perhaps they should have spent the $20 million on a runway (which we need), instead of on a new 8 lane freeway (which we didn't)?
This is another of those Machiavellian press releases that sort of tell the truth but uses irrelevant facts to create misunderstanding.

Whitehorse Daily Star