It's business as usual always putting safety first in maintaining Kivalliq airports, Covid-19 pandemic or no Covid-19 pandemic, said the director of the Nunavut Airports Division of the Department of Economic Development and Transportation.

Darrin Nichol said the department's level of service has not changed one iota during the virus challenge.

He said the department's regional crews continue to do their jobs making sure the runways are safe, the airports are compliant, they're suitable for both regular scheduled flights and cargo flights, and passengers are safe travelling in and out.

SA国际影视传媒淩eally, nothing has changed due to Covid-19 in terms of what we're doing at the airport,SA国际影视传媒� said Nichol. SA国际影视传媒淔or sure flights have been reduced, given the environment, but our focus hasn't changed. It remains status quo and we haven't really changed anything with what we're doing.SA国际影视传媒�

Nichol said there's been no change in the number of hours dedicated to maintaining the Rankin airport despite the reduction in flights. He said that hasn't changed in any of Nunavut's 24 airports that his department oversees.

SA国际影视传媒淲e post our hours in the Canada Flight Supplement, we book within those hours and those are the hours we continue to maintain.

SA国际影视传媒淣othing has become any easier, or more difficult, with maintaining the Rankin airport because of the current climate.

SA国际影视传媒淲e have a good crew in Rankin Inlet. We maintain the airport in a partnership with the hamlet and they've done an amazing throughout anything and everything.

SA国际影视传媒淏ut, again, the focus of maintaining runways and maintaining airports hasn't changed SA国际影视传媒� it hasn't become easier, nor has it really become any harder SA国际影视传媒� remaining pretty much status quo as it was before and as it is now.SA国际影视传媒�

Nichol said while there has been a noticeable reduction in the number of flights coming into Rankin each week due to the Covid-19 situation, there's still regularly scheduled passenger flights, charter flights and cargo flights coming into the community.

He said his department is doing the exact same thing across the board in every community it oversees that it was doing earlier.

SA国际影视传媒淭here's no doubt there's been a reduction in traffic, and no doubt that most of the general public notices this or they're aware of the situation.

SA国际影视传媒淚t might not jive with what they (the public) think, but they can rest assured that hasn't changed our business-as-usual focus in making sure these airports are being maintained in a top-notch, A1 manner, and our focus is always safety first.

SA国际影视传媒淲e have great people working at our airports across the Kivalliq, Baffin and Kitikmeot regions, who are very dedicated folks, great community partners and great transportation staff members.

SA国际影视传媒淲e take great pride in doing our job, as do our community partners, and we're going to continue that going forward, regardless of the environment we find ourselves in.SA国际影视传媒�