Iqaluit Airport (YFB/CYFB)

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Founded as Frobisher Bay Air Base in 1942 by both the US and Canadian governments as a logistical hub and stopover point on trans-polar flights, Iqaluit Airport is a mixed-use civilian airport operated by the government of Nunavut that provides scheduled, charter and ad-hoc passenger and cargo flight services.

Originally built to support USAAF Air Transport Command flights to and from the European Theatre of the Second World War, Frobisher Air Base was instead used primarily for weather reporting and communications duties. Transferred to the USAF Military Air Transport Service (MATS) in 1948, the field was largely inactive until finally being idled by the USAF in 1950. Cold War tensions and the construction of the Eastern portion of the DEW Line brought renewed USAF, RCAF and NATO activity at the base, which became part of the Northeast Air Command. Operating as a logistical support base for the DEW Line installations as well as a base for both Fighter-Interceptor and Aerial Tanker squadrons, the facility regularly saw up to 300 daily aircraft movements at its operational height. The completion of an expanded Thule Air Force Base in Greenland and the upgrade of facilities at Goose Air Base led to the decline in the use of Frobisher Air Base which eventually culminated with the deactivation of the air base in 1963.

Returned to the Canadian government thereafter as a civilian/commercial airfield, the facility also saw the decline in its use by trans-Atlantic passenger flights, which prior to the introduction of long-range jet aircraft had regularly called at the airfield for refueling or repairs. At the same time, the rise in regional airline operations served to sustain the airport with carriers like Nordair and Bradley Air Services (now First Air) turning Frobisher into the regional passenger and freight hub that it is today.

Renamed Iqaluit Airport shortly after the creation of Nunavut in 1999, the airport presently operates as a domestic facility with limited NAV Canada airport of entry services and is listed as a hub for First Air. The airfield is listed and frequently serves as a diversion airport for commercial airline Polar routes and has recently been used as a cold-weather evaluation site for new aircraft designs during the Winter months. The Royal Canadian Air Force also maintains a Forward Operating Base for a detachment of CF-18 Hornets on the South side of the airfield.

Current Airlines & Destinations (A/O 11/2013)
Air Greenland: Nuuk (Seasonal)
Canadian North: Cape Dorset, Clyde River, Hall Beach, Igloolik, Ottawa, Pangnirtung, Pond Inlet, Qikiqtarjuaq, Rankin Inlet, Yellowknife
EVAS Air: Gander, Happy Valley-Goose Bay
First Air: Arctic Bay, Cape Dorset, Clyde River, Hall Beach, Igloolik, Kimmirut, Kuujjuaq, Montreal-Trudeau, Ottawa, Pangnirtung, Pond Inlet, Qikiqtarjuaq, Rankin Inlet, Resolute, Yellowknife
Nolinor Aviation Charter: Kitchener-Waterloo

Runway Information:
Runway 17/35: Asphalt, 8,605ft/2,623m

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