North-Wright Airways on Thursday suspended scheduled flights to and from Fort Good Hope and Colville Lake after the communities, under Covid-19 containment, declared emergencies.
Flights to and from two other Sahtu communities, Délı̨nę and Tulita, may be cancelled at short notice. The number of flights to those communities may be “reduced significantly,” the Norman Wells-based airline said.
Airline president Travis Wright, in a letter to passengers, said North-Wright would continually assess the Covid-19 caseload in the Sahtu and is currently considering resuming flights on August 30.
North-Wright is the only passenger airline that regularly serves all Sahtu communities. As of Wednesday, there were 109 active Covid-19 cases in the region as the territorial outbreak grew to 129 cases overall.
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Travel is strongly discouraged in Sahtu communities unless for an essential reason, such as medical travel.
“We ask that you strictly follow the rules and wishes of the communities,” Wright wrote. “Most importantly, don’t travel unless it’s absolutely essential.”
