Summit Aviation is planning to acquire an Avro RJ85 for operations in northern Canada. The RJ85, to be introduced this summer, will be used to support Rio Tinto’s Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories, about 500 km northeast of Yellowknife. Regular flights will be operated between Edmonton and the mine. The RJ85 was chosed because of its ability to operate from Diavik’s 5,234-foot gravel runway. “Being able to move upwards of 90 passengers to and from remote locations significantly broadens our service offering, while still providing the northern expertise in safety and reliability Summit is known for,” said Summit’s president, Rob Mauracher. The RJ85 will be fitted with a gravel kit. The operation will be undertaken in partnership with Det’on Cho Logistics and First Air.

Recent news items on Summit Air:

• First Air merges with Canadian North (2019-07-23)
• Summit Air Avro RJ85 pull (2018-09-23)
• Canadian RJ100s fly to the UK for maintenance (2018-04-15)
• Summit Air adds second Avro RJ100 (2018-02-25)
• Summit Air to open base at Calgary (2017-04-22)