Air North could experience a “serious material impact” if the Dawson City Airport runway isn’t paved in fewer than five years’ time, says Airline president and CEO Joe Sparling.

For the last three years, Air North has flown between 15,000 and 20,000 passengers in and out of Dawson each season, as part of its agreement with cruise ship line Holland America.

Right now, Yukon’s Airline supports the entire Holland America program with one gravel-capable Boeing 737, and that aircraft is nearing the end of its life span, said Sparling in an interview this morning.

He said it’s unlikely the plane will still be flying in five years.

“Paving the existing runway would allow us to operate with a more modern aircraft and it would improve our payloads (total weight of passengers, luggage and cargo) in and out of Dawson,” said Sparling.

The Liberals campaigned on a promise to pave Dawson’s gravel runway, but there is no money for paving in this year’s budget. Rather, the 2017-18 fiscal plan includes $250,000 for Dawson airport planning.

In the legislature on Monday, the Yukon Party challenged the Liberals to restate their commitment to paving the runway in Dawson.

“At a meeting on March 17, the premier told the Dawson City Chamber of Commerce there were a lot of questions about whether the runway should be paved or not,” said Yukon Party MLA Geralidine Van Bibber.

“It is starting to sound like the premier is backing away from his clear promise to Yukoners and the clear commitment made in his platform.”

To this, Richard Mostyn, the minister of Highways and Public Works, said the government is gathering information, and that it has a plan that is “75 per cent done.”

“It would be irresponsible for a government to make a decision — a political decision — with only 75 percent of the information,” he said.

The premier blamed his predecessor for vowing, prematurely, to pave the runway at the January 2016 Mineral Roundup in Vancouver.

“What we’re finding out is that the homework wasn’t there,” said Sandy Silver, who promised his home riding of Klondike a paved runway.

“We are not going to pave runways this year because the work required to do so has not been done.”

The former Yukon Party government earmarked $395,000 in last year’s budget for a Dawson City Airport Development Plan.

It was not clear this morning how much of last year’s budget for planning was spent.

It would cost an estimated $11 million to pave the runway, and another $805,000 in annual operating costs, according to a January 2016, business case evaluation done by the Dawson City Chamber of Commerce and Peak Solutions Consulting.

For Air North, the ideal solution would be to relocate the runway to a spot that would allow it to be extended, but Sparling said that would be far more costly and he would rather see the existing runway paved than no action whatsoever.

A longer runway would allow Air North to fly in larger payloads and do so in less favourable conditions, such as high winds and rain, explained chief commercial officer Ben Ryan.

With a longer runway, the Boeing 737 could haul its maximum capacity of 122 passengers in all flyable conditions.

Currently, said Ryan, Holland America is restricted to flying around 65 people per flight.

Paving the runway would allow the company to fly at least 100 passengers in almost all weather conditions, he said.

“Extending the runway would certainly add value, but simply paving the runway would add the most value for the least amount of complexity,” he said.

Ryan said Dawson’s runway length is limited by its location.

Sparling said he’s been privy to discussions surrounding the future of Dawson’s airport, and that a consultant has produced a report with options ranging from paving the existing runway to relocating the runway and the terminal.

There do not appear to be regulatory impediments preventing the runway from being paved, said Sparling; rather, it seems that the biggest obstacle is cost.

Mostyn said the report he’s working with, the one that’s purportedly 75 per cent complete, examines improvements to the airport at its current site. Relocating the runway does not seem to be an option at this time.

The government is still analyzing “all sorts of very complicated Transport Canada Regulations,” and dealing with federal officials who have safety concerns, said Mostyn.

Ryan questioned concerns about safety, saying pavement is safer and superior to the gravel that’s there now.

“If we’re able to safely fly there with an unpaved runway, paving the runway is clearly an improvement to the overall safety of flying to the airport,” he said.

Paving the runway is still on the table, insisted Mostyn.

“This is a couple of months into a five-year mandate,” said Mostyn, adding he is “not losing any sleep about breaking promises at this time.”

But for Air North, the clock is ticking.

Worst-case scenario, said Ryan, is that Holland America asks another, non-Yukon, airline to fly its passengers.

Or, said Ryan, Air North is forced to run turbo-prop aircraft, which have less capacity.

There are two paved runways in the Yukon and about a dozen in Canada North of 60, said Sparling.

“All across the North, we have to begin improving our aviation infrastructure because we rely on aviation for people to get around; it’s like our highway system,” said Sparling.

“If we want to develop the North, we have to improve our infrastructure and make it easier to get around. Paving runways is a huge and necessary step.