Flying out from and in to Whale Cove has just become a whole lot more enjoyable.

Director of the Nunavut Airports Division Darrin Nichol said the new terminal building in Whale Cove became operational last week.

The state-of-the-art terminal came with a price tag of about $15 million.

Nichol said the new airport building is about 3,500 square feet, which is about three times as big as its predecessor.

He said Nunavut Airports is proud of the new terminal.

鈥淭he early response from the residents of Whale Cove is that it's beautiful and a welcome addition to the community,鈥� said Nichol. 鈥淚t offers a lot of accessibility, which is super important to me.

鈥淭he other ones were smaller and they were old, but these new buildings, the Whale Cove ATB (air terminal building), is much easier to access and get around in for our Elders and folks with any mobility challenges.

鈥淚t's built on grades, so people can get in and out. The washrooms are also very easy to access in what is a very spacious new building.

鈥淭here's a lot more seating and better lighting, as well as a lot more efficient space for the airline to operate out of for their staff when processing passengers.鈥�

Nichol said the new terminal also features backup power, which gives it the ability to power the airfield in the event of a prolonged power issue in the community, so operators are able to get aircraft in and out.

He said that represents a big step up and something the department is excited about.

鈥淭here's lots of nice pictures in there of Whale Cove and lots of room for local art, so, overall, we're super pleased and very happy with how it turned out.

鈥淭he building is brand new and most of the stuff in there is what we call state-of-the-art. It features all new technology, new systems and new mechanical.

鈥淎nd, it has a robust back-up generator system that will kick in automatically in the event of a power failure to keep the lights on and, most importantly, it will keep the runway lit.

鈥淚t's 100 per cent a beautiful building. These are expensive buildings," he said. "They're big projects in any community, and these airports are built long term. These terminals will last for a long time. We'll take good care of them and this one will be there to meet the growing needs of Whale Cove for 30, 40 or 50 years. We'll be having a grand opening sometime in June.鈥�