Air North has scaled back its regular air service to Watson Lake due to security concerns with the community’s airport.

Air North president Joe Sparling said Friday the airline currently offers a charter flight for rotational workers.

He explained that these flights did not mesh well with the security screening parameters.

“It really wasn’t worth it for the consumer,” Sparling said.

The problem stems from passengers not being screened. The lack of security screening in Watson Lake makes the continuation of this route impossible.

He explained that this was limited service to begin with, and he doesn’t expect the scale-back to have much of an impact. That said, the airline may consider reinstating this service sometime in the future.

He said there’s a small number of passengers using the route. He estimated there to be six to eight passengers.

“The numbers weren’t big,” Sparling said.

Air North will continue to offer the charter service. This service has a lot more use, with up to 90 passengers flying to the area for work in the mines. He does not foresee the scale-backs affecting this charter.

If the Watson Lake airport did have certified security, he said, there would not have been an issue.

Sparling was unsure if it would be practical to get security personnel into Watson Lake. He said there could be a push to get some kind of security exemption.