Alert Airport is located at Alert,

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, Canada, approximately south of the true

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

. It is operated by the Canadian

Department of National Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

and is part of Canadian Forces Station Alert. A weather station was established on the site in 1950, and in 1957 construction began on the military facilities which are still in use as of 2024. It is the northernmost airport in the world, although not used by public scheduled flights.

Facilities

Radar and navigation equipment are trailer units that can be moved around the airport. The airport's fire and rescue operations are supported by a 2012 KME/Fort Garry Fire Truck

ARFF Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) is a type of firefighting that involves the emergency response, mitigation, evacuation, and rescue of passengers and crew of aircraft involved in aviation accidents and incidents. Airports with schedul ...

. Two bulldozers are used to grade the runway when needed.

Incidents

There have been two crashes involving fatalities at the airfield since it was established. * July 31, 1950 –

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to ...

AG-965 on a re-supply flight crashed, killing all 9 on board (crew members and passengers). * October 30, 1991 – "Boxtop 22", a

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

from

CFB Trenton Canadian Forces Base Trenton (also CFB Trenton), formerly RCAF Station Trenton, is a Canadian Forces base located within the city of Quinte West, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is the hub ...

on re-supply mission crashed, killing 5 on board.

References

External links

{{authority control Airports in the Arctic Ellesmere Island Military airbases in Nunavut Airports established in 1950 1950 establishments in the Northwest Territories

Facilities

Incidents

See also

References

External links