Yellowknife Airport has increased some of the fees it charges for services like training, permitting and maintenance, saying costs had risen but prices charged sometimes hadn’t gone up for years.
The changes affect some aircraft owners, airlines and companies that work on airport property, but don’t directly affect passengers.
A new floatplane docking fee of $40 has been introduced, while an associated escort fee – payable when airport personnel escort a floatplane across the highway between the airport and the dock at neighbouring Long Lake – has risen from $75 to $135.
More: See the GNWT’s list of fees that are changing
The Northwest Territories Flying Association, which represents some floatplane pilots, has long questioned how even the $75 fee was calculated and had been lobbying for it to be re-examined, calling it an “unauthorized and unreasonable fee” levied on “a small subset of floatplane dock users.”
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The association even had the NWT’s ombud look into the fee in 2022. According to the association, the ombud found the GNWT had the power to introduce such a fee but had not followed the correct process.
In a news release last week, the NWT government said Yellowknife Airport “operates on a cost-recovery basis, meaning fees are set to cover the cost of providing services, not to generate profit.”
“The airport’s fee structure is updated periodically to reflect the true cost of operations, ensuring the airport remains financially self-sustaining,” the territory added.
There is a new $100 fee to take the initial test for an airside vehicle operator’s permit, plus a $50 no-show fee, and there are new fees associated with losing an airside pass or a key.
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First aid and extinguisher training costs have gone up and new maintenance service fees have been introduced, which appear to be applicable when an operator calls out a member of airport personnel for assistance.
Other maintenance fees, such as the use of snowblowers, loaders and light-duty trucks, have either gone up by small amounts, been held at the same price or decreased slightly.
Some fees hadn’t been updated since 2017, the GNWT told Cabin Radio. Fees will now be reviewed annually.
