Some Yukoners want scheduled flights to return to village of Mayo

Residents of Mayo, Yukon and the surrounding communities say they miss AirNorth's scheduled flights in and out of the community.

The public flight service to the community began in 2018 to serve the mining industry in the region, but was cut in 2020.

Four years later, some residents want the company to consider reinstating the service.

One of those residents is Anne Leckie, who has called the Mayo area home for the past 40 years.

"I'm a senior citizen," she said, explaining that when she has to see a specialist she currently has to find someone to drive her to and from Whitehorse.

"I think it would be much more economical to be able to just fly down and fly back," she said.

Leckie said there are other reasons to bring back flights to Mayo.

Anne Leckie has lived in the Mayo, Yukon area for 40 years. She said when AirNorth introduced scheduled flights in 2018 it was helpful to seniors requiring medical travel, students traveling to sporting events, and people without vehicles. (Anne Leckie)

"There are students who are in school in Whitehorse who would want to come home," she said. "Or who are in B.C."

Leckie also said it's not just about convenience but also safety. She explained that highway conditions during the winter months are sometimes too dangerous to drive, and a quick flight would be safer.

The idea of bringing public flights back is a suggestion that's also received a wealth of support on Mayo social media pages, with people citing how convenient it would be.

Public transportation options lacking

According to Leckie there's always been a need for transportation to and from other communities. Back in the 1980s and 1990s there were scheduled flights three times a week out of Mayo, she said. And there was once a bus from Stewart Crossing.

"When AirNorth introduced schedule flights for the year or two before Covid, it was really helpful because it had been twenty years that we hadn't had any way of getting to and from Whitehorse in particular than by private vehicle."

Leckie said flights used to go from Whitehorse, to Mayo, to Dawson City, but now they only go to Dawson City.

Even a couple of flights per week in and out of Mayo might be enough, she added.

Demand needs to be higher

Benjamin Ryan, chief commercial officer with AirNorth said the flights in and out of Mayo before the pandemic were mainly for mine workers, but each flight had a few open seats for the public.

Then, when the pandemic hit, they had to make the flights private, and therefore didn't offer any seats to the public.

"In order for the mines to keep doing their crew changes during a Covid environment they had to become isolated charters," Ryan said. "It was part of the public health process to be able to continue operating."

As for why scheduled flights haven't been reinstated Ryan said there just wasn't enough local passengers to justify the continuing the service.

AirNorth has no current plans to reinstate the service to Mayo right now, and said the company had been surprised by how few residents booked tickets on flights when they were available.

However, he said the idea isn't completely off the table. For it to be financially viable for the company, AirNorth would need a guarantee that about 10 seats, twice per week, each way, would be booked. This minimum seat sale requirement, he added, is something that the company would be willing to discuss with local governments or organizations.

"Is that something that a corporation in Mayo, a municipal government, a First Nation government, or Yukon government would be interested in?" he said. "I'm not sure. Again, [in] our experience it was really just the mining entities that were using the [flight] service."

"We'd really need to see evidence that a business or government really intends to use the flights," Ryan said.