Lupin Airport

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Lupin Mine Airport
IATA: YWO - ICAO: CYWO
Summary
Airport type N/A
Operator Echo Bay Mines Limited
Serves Lupin Mine
Elevation AMSL 1608 ft (490 m)
Coordinates 65°45′33″N, 111°15′00″W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
01T/19T 6,400 1,950 Gravel

Lupin Airport (IATA: YWOICAO: CYWO) was an airport located at Lupin Mine, Nunavut, Canada that was operated by Echo Bay Mines Limited.

[edit] History

In the 1950 and 60s this area was known as Contwoyto Lake. Nearby (at location 65 degrees 29' 12.61"N, 110 degrees 21'1.33"W) is an island where there was a small (4 person) camp operated by Pacific Western Airlines of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (since merged with Canadian Pacific Airlines, subsequently bought by Air Canada). Operating expenses for the facility were paid for by the Canadian Federal Government. The island was unofficially known as Alcatraz Island and the smaller one West of it was called Wolf Island.

During the 60s there was a large Quonset hut and a smaller shed which housed a diesel generator, a backup generator, fuel, and a small tractor. There was no official landing strip, just a dirt strip for emergencies. Planes used floats in the summer and skis on the lake in winter. The main function of the station was to operate a radio beacon (sending WO in Morse Code) and a secondary but very important function was to radio weather observations hourly to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

[edit] References