Inuvik to Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories

If only flying to Ulukhaktok were so easy. Photo: Eilís Quinn, Radio Canada International. Well….kinda….

Four of us piled into an airport shuttle van this morning for our flight to Ulukhaktok.

Besides me there was an elder from the community and two athletes on their way back from the Arctic Winter Games.

We checked in for our 11:30 flight than went off to wait in the Inuvik airport cafeteria.

At around 11h00 someone called out for Ulukhaktok passengers to come up to the counter. We were told that th flight was cancelled.

‘Why?’ asked one of the edlers on the flight.

‘The pilot’s sick,’ was the answer. 

The exchange that followed was a classic one and one that could only happen in the North.

Passenger: “Well get another pilot!”

Ticket agent: “We can’t, he’s the only one that knows how to pilot that kind of plane…”

Passenger: “Well use another plane?”

Ticket agent: “We can’t. The other plane is broken.

Passenger: “Well, go fix it.”

Ticket agent: “We can’t…we’re waiting for a part from Calgary.”

and so the morning went….

We’ve been trundled back to our hotels, were called in the afternooon and told  to come back to the airport tomorrow morning and try again.

Wish me luck!

Write to Eilís Quinn at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic

Eilís Quinn is an award-winning journalist and manages Radio Canada International’s Eye on the Arctic news cooperation project. Eilís has reported from the Arctic regions of all eight circumpolar countries and has produced numerous documentary and multimedia series about climate change and the issues facing Indigenous peoples in the North.

Her investigative report "Death in the Arctic: A community grieves, a father fights for change," about the murder of Robert Adams, a 19-year-old Inuk man from Arctic Quebec, received the silver medal for “Best Investigative Article or Series” at the 2019 Canadian Online Publishing Awards. The project also received an honourable mention for excellence in reporting on trauma at the 2019 Dart Awards in New York City.

Her report “The Arctic Railway: Building a future or destroying a culture?” on the impact a multi-billion euro infrastructure project would have on Indigenous communities in Arctic Europe was a finalist at the 2019 Canadian Association of Journalists award in the online investigative category.

Her multimedia project on the health challenges in the Canadian Arctic, "Bridging the Divide," was a finalist at the 2012 Webby Awards.

Her work on climate change in the Arctic has also been featured on the TV science program Découverte, as well as Le Téléjournal, the French-Language CBC’s flagship news cast.

Eilís has worked for media organizations in Canada and the United States and as a TV host for the Discovery/BBC Worldwide series "Best in China."

Do you want to report an error or a typo? Click here!

Leave a Reply

Note: By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that Radio Canada International has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Radio Canada International does not endorse any of the views posted. Your comments will be pre-moderated and published if they meet netiquette guidelines.
Netiquette »

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *