The Yellowknife Airport is currently back to normal despite the challenges posed by freezing rain on Jan. 29. A few flights, however, were cancelled or delayed due to the adverse weather conditions.
Three WestJet flights, two of them originally set to departed 1:40 p.m. and 1:59 p.m., and one inbound set to arrive 1:14 p.m. were cancelled Monday.
NNSL media sought comment from WestJet but there was no response as of Tuesday afternoon.
In response to the freezing rain, airport staff applied a liquid chemical to the runway on Monday afternoon to combat the formation of ice. This chemical improves braking conditions, enabling aircraft to land safely.
“The safety of travellers, airplane crews, and our staff is our number one priority,” said Darren Campbell, spokesperson with the Department of Infrastructure.
There were several applications of chemicals on Monday, removing a large amount of ice from the surfaces. The work continued Tuesday with sweeping and grading of the runways, and plans to apply more chemicals to address the remaining ice.
The airport is focusing its efforts on its primary runway, known as runway 16/34, to ensure safe operating conditions for all aircraft.