'Every dollar counts': Yukon aviation industry welcomes new financial help

Yukon's aviation industry is welcoming some new financial help to get through theCOVID-19 pandemic.

The federal government is contributing $3.56 million to help compensate Yukon aviation companies for losses during the pandemic. The funding is Yukon's portion ofthe federal reliefprogram announced last month.

The Yukon government will disburse the money.

Air North will receive $1.1 million over three months to continue what are considered critical and essential routes in the north.

"Every dollar counts," said Joe Sparling, president of Air North.

"There are several relief programs on the table now, including the 75 per centwage subsidy, the essential air services subsidy."

He says the Yukon government has other programs that combined will reduce the company'slosses to a manageable level.

The airline industry has been hardhit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with passenger traffic dropping significantly,across Canada.Air North has not been immune, Sparling said.

"During April last year, there were more than 25,000 people travelling on the jet routes out of Whitehorse to points down south. This April, there is less than a thousand,"he said.

He says the average flight out of Yukon now has about 15 people on it. Air North's737s have 120 seats available.

"This is the worst challenge that I ever have seen, and the worst challenge commercial aviation has ever faced,"Sparling said.

Air Canada, meanwhile, says it lost $1.05 billion in its first quarter this year, compared with a profit of $345 million in the same quarter last year.

Wendy Tayler, president of Northern Air Transportation Industry, says in addition to the new federal funding, relief from a number of other commercial airport fees will help the Yukon aviation industry.

"Ultimately, we need to find a way to support all industry so that they can weather the challenges COVID[-19] brings to us from an economic perspective while we fight the health challenge,"said Tayler.

She says the coming months will be especially hard on smaller operators who fly seasonally and rely on tourism. She says they could lose up to 98 per centof their workload for this summer.

Tayleralso says she is happy with the Yukon government's actionto waivecommercial fees for 2020.