Low fuel causes First Air to cancel some flights to Nunavut
No other airline affected; Esso says there's a significant amount of fuel stockpiled in city
First Air has cancelled some flights out of Yellowknife and rescheduled others Friday, because its suppliers were unable to provide the required fuel.
In a news release, First Air blamed a "significantly reduced availability of fuel" for the cancellation of Flight 955, a Yellowknife-Rankin Inlet-Iqaluit flight, and the return Flight 956.
Flights between Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Simpson were rescheduled Friday.
N.W.T. Highway 3, the only road in or out of Yellowknife, has been closed intermittently for weeks due to forest fires and smoke that's reduce visibility along the road. First Air says its fuel suppliers have been unable to guarantee required fuel quantities because of those closures.
The airline says its flight schedule for the next few days also has to be revised, with priority given "to essential services to allow for medical travel and cargo."
There are two aviation fuel distributors in Yellowknife and trucks carrying fuel for both companies are waiting to get through the closed section of Highway 3.
A representative for Esso says there's a significant amount of fuel already stockpiled in Yellowknife.
While First Air disrupted service, no other airline appears to be affected.