Iqaluit Airport guide

Iqaluit Airport serves the capital of Nunavut, on the southeast coast of Baffin Island. Its ICAO code is CYFB and it sits at 34 metres (110 feet) above sea level. The Government of Nunavut owns it, and Nunavut Airport Services Ltd. runs it under a 30-year contract.

The site began in 1942 as a United States military air base, known as Crystal II, and the United States closed it in 1963 when it became a civilian airport. Pan American and TWA used it as a refuelling stop in the late 1950s. Today it is a diversion airport for polar routes, and manufacturers have used it for cold-weather testing of aircraft such as the Airbus A380, A350 and A400M.

The airport has one asphalt runway, 16/34, measuring 2,623 metres (8,605 feet). That length takes jets as well as the turboprops that fly most community routes. A new terminal of about 9,300 square metres opened in August 2017, built as a public-private partnership. The older terminal, from around 1986, now holds administration offices and the control tower.

Canadian North is the main carrier, linking Iqaluit with Ottawa, Yellowknife, Kuujjuaq and about 13 communities in eastern Nunavut. Air Greenland flies seasonally to Nuuk. Cargojet carries freight. The airport is an airport of entry, but Canada Border Services Agency officers can only clear general aviation aircraft carrying 15 passengers or fewer.