Release #: 22.32
September 15, 2022

ALPA Names Clyde River 2021 “Airport of the Year”

WASHINGTON, D.C.—At its 66th Air Safety Forum today, the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) honored Clyde River Airport (YCY) in Nunavut, Canada, as Airport of the Year for its efforts to support flight crews during extreme conditions by keeping the airport open during a state of emergency when the area was hit with repeated blizzards.

“The Clyde River Airport did an outstanding job of providing necessary information to flight crews,” said Capt. Joe DePete, ALPA’s president. “Its use of resources for a small community in crisis illustrates some of the many challenges our remote airports face, and I’m proud of the work they did here.”

Down to just one piece of heavy equipment for snow removal—not just for the airport, but for the entire community, airport officials kept Clyde River open and operating during this extremely challenging period. ALPA’s Presidential Committee for Remote Operations has worked hard over the years to ensure that essential emergency medical and hazmat equipment is available at most airports, but especially critical in the Far North region

“I’m happy to receive this award on behalf of the Clyde River Airport,” said Capt. Brent Este, a First Air pilot and ALPA airport safety liaison. “They’ve been an incredible partner in addressing our pilots’ needs while serving the overall community.”

DePete established the Remote Operations Committee, which advocates for improvements to airport facilities, such as grooved runways at ETOPS diversion airports and expansion of paved surfaces and ground support equipment to allow safe taxiing and deplaning of larger widebody aircraft.

Each year, ALPA’s Airport and Ground Environment Group selects the Airport of the Year from nominations made by ALPA’s regional airport safety chairs and airport safety liaisons who represent pilots’ interests at more than 150 airports in Canada and the United States.

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents more than 65,000 pilots at 40 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Visit ALPA.org or follow us on Twitter @ALPAPilots.

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CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703-481-4440 or Media@alpa.org