The Town of Kap is boasting a 50 per cent increase in the amount of flights in and out of its airport. Administrator Guylain Baril says that’s due to North Star Cargo and General Aviation sending up supplies to the James Bay Coast. He adds that the total has gone up from more than 3,100 in 2023 to over 3,400 this past year.
“We’re strategically located for those flights in a straight line very close to these first nation communities, so it’s really a great place to be doing these flights from,” he said.
Baril says with the problems of keeping the winter ice road from Smooth Rock Falls to Moosonee and Moose Factory open due to weather, flights have become important.
He adds that activity at the airport helps the town’s bottom line.
“The aiport costs are very fixed in the sense that if you plough the runway for one plane it’s no more expensive to have that runway ready for 100 planes,” he said. “So we just want to increase the usage of it because it helps to reduce the burden to the taxpayers.”