Whitehorse International Airport

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Whitehorse International Airport

IATA: YXY – ICAO: CYXY
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner/Operator Government of Yukon[1]
Location Whitehorse, Yukon
Elevation AMSL 2,317 ft / 706 m
Coordinates 60°42′34″N 135°04′08″W / 60.70944, -135.06889
Website www.gov.yk.ca/yxy
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
01/19 2,075 632 Asphalt
13R/31L 9,497 2,895 Asphalt
13L/31R 4,000 1,219 Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft Movements 27,692
Sources: Canada Flight Supplement[2]
Statistics from Transport Canada.[3]

Whitehorse International Airport (IATA: YXYICAO: CYXY) is located in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. It is part of the National Airports System, and is operated by the government of the Yukon territory.

The airport is classified as an airport of entry by NAV CANADA and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency. CBSA officers at this airport currently can handle aircraft with no more than 50 passengers; however, they can handle up to 225 if the aircraft is unloaded in stages.[2][4]

The airport has one fixed base operator for fuel, limited aircraft maintenance facilities. The control tower operates from 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. local time, and the Whitehorse Flight Service Station provides Airport Advisory Service during the remaining hours.

In addition to scheduled commercial service, numerous small charter operators and bush pilots use the airport and it serves as a major base for water bombers used in forest firefighting operations. The airport also controls Whitehorse Water Aerodrome, a float plane base on Schwatka Lake.

Whitehorse is also a major stopover point for private flyers who make the trip to and from Alaska.

During the September 11, 2001 attacks, two aircraft approaching the United States from Asia were diverted to Whitehorse as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon; Korean Air Boeing 747s, one of which was feared hijacked but this was not the case — the plane was low on fuel. Many of the buildings in the downtown area below the airport were evacuated. Those who witnessed the plane's landing saw the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) order the crew out at gunpoint.

The airport's parking lot is graced by an old Canadian Pacific Airlines Douglas DC-3 on a pedestal that serves as a wind vane. That particular craft first served for the United States Army Air Force in southeast Asia during World War II, before being sold after the war for commercial airline service.

Contents

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Aerial view of Whitehorse and the airport, July 1990.
Aerial view of Whitehorse and the airport, July 1990.

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[edit] External links