First direct flights between Toronto, Yukon, Whitehorse to run regularly in 2022

An AirNorth Boeing 737-500 (@flyairnorth/Instagram)

TORONTO -

A scheduled, direct flight route will soon connect Toronto with the Yukon and Northwest Territories, marking a first for Canadian air travel, as Yukon airline provider Air North announced Wednesday that it's adding Toronto Pearson International Airport to its seasonal route network.

Flights will run twice a week between Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Toronto, beginning on May 10, 2022. These flights are available to be booked now.

The new additions will mark the first scheduled, direct flight routes connecting Toronto, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, according to a release issued by Air North on Wednesday.

Ottawa was the first Ontario city to see a direct, scheduled route connecting it to northern Canada in 2014 when Air North began operating seasonal service.

Weekly service will be scheduled as follows:

• 4N823 will depart Whitehorse on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:00 a.m., arriving in Yellowknife at 10:45 a.m. It will depart Yellowknife at 11:30 a.m. and arrive in Toronto at 5:40 p.m.
• 4N834 will depart Toronto on Wednesdays and Fridays at 10:45 a.m., arriving in Yellowknife at 1:25p.m. It will depart Yellowknife at 2:10 p.m. and arrive in Whitehorse at 3:05 p.m.

Joe Sparling, Air North’s president and CEO, said in the company's release that it quickly became evident that a connection between central Canada and the north “is essential.”

“Having a direct flight to Canada’s economic hub will kickstart opportunity for both territories,” he said.

Craig Bradbook, chief operating officer at the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, called the introduction of the route “a historic milestone.”

“Aviation drives economies and strengthens bonds by connecting businesses and people, and we look forward to the mutual benefits that this route will bring about, both for the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, and for Ontario.”