A new airport terminal in Kugluktuk is now open, allowing arriving passengers to collect their luggage inside for the first time.
The old air terminal building was constructed in 1980 and didn鈥檛 provide protection from the elements for travellers waiting for their unloaded baggage, but that's not the case with the new building, which opened late last month.
鈥淧assengers can now receive their baggage indoors, they used to have to wait outdoors up to 25 minutes or so, even in the cold,鈥� Kevin Niptanatiak, Kugluktuk鈥檚 senior administrative officer, told Nunavut News in a phone interview.
Niptanatiak said the new air terminal is accessible for the mobility impaired, features automatic doors, and is already making a positive impact on the community.
Residents have told Niptanatiak that the air terminal is a great way to welcome tourists, and Niptanatiak himself used the airport for the first time in the second week of July.
鈥淚 was very impressed, I felt like I was in a modern town,鈥� Niptanatiak said about his home, Nunavut鈥檚 westernmost community.
While Niptanatiak appreciated the addition, he explained the territorial and federal governments are responsible for the upgrade, not the hamlet.
The new air terminal building cost $17.3M and took just over two years to construct, according to Transportation and Infrastructure Nunavut.
Canadian North operates scheduled flights to and from the airport seven days per week, including two daily trips to Yellowknife, connections to Cambridge Bay, and twice per week, there are connections to Ulukhaktok.
Kugluktuk鈥檚 old air terminal will be demolished once new communications systems work is completed, Transportation and Infrastructure Nunavut said.
Supply shipments of food and fuel won鈥檛 be affected by the new terminal, Niptanatiak explained.
鈥淔ood and any other supplies and any cargo are removed from the airport to its respective location,鈥� Niptanatiak said. 鈥淔or the food, it鈥檚 brought immediately to either the Co-op store or the 黑料吃瓜网 store and cargo is offloaded into a warehouse.鈥�
An airport first opened in the community back in 1967, funded by the federal Department of Transportation.
