THUNDER BAY – North Star Air celebrated the grand opening of its new multi-purpose facility and headquarters at the Thunder Bay International Airport on Saturday.
The facility features a 37,000-square-foot hangar, an integrated cargo warehouse, on-site parking and a passenger terminal that will open at a later date.
“We’re really excited to be in our new hangar. This is our new home in Thunder Bay,” said Jeff Stout, North Star Air’s president and chief operating officer.
Construction for the hangar, which totalled over $10 million, began in December 2023 and only recently concluded, allowing the airline to move in June 2025.
“It was a serious investment in the north,” Stout said.
Prior to the construction of the new facility, Stout explained that the airline used to be in seven different buildings throughout the airport.
These buildings separated the airline’s maintenance, cargo, passenger services and administration.
“We’ve consolidated into the one and the amazing thing is we’re really enhancing our service to the north,” Stout said.
“We focus on the north. We’re a northern airline and this facility is custom-designed to suit the north. We have walk-in cooler freezers, expanded passenger lounge (and) maintenance on site.”
Looking ahead, the hangar will also likely see well over a thousand people weekly once the airline is fully moved in and operating out of it, according to Stout.
As such, he added that Saturday’s event was about celebrating their partnership with the north, their customers and most importantly, their staff, who have been “extremely committed to the airline and seeing that essential service to the north.”
The grand opening ceremony began with speeches from regional stakeholders, a blessing from Indigenous elders, an official ribbon cutting and tours around the facility in the afternoon, before concluding with a party to celebrate staff, customers, vendors and community partners later in the evening.
“We’re extremely humbled to have some of our northern communities down here for the event, including some elders to bless the facility,” Stout said.
For Chief Cornelius Wabasse of Webequie First Nation, who accompanied elders and community members to participate in the important day, it was a “very special event.” He said North Star was a long time coming.
“Webequie has been part of this airline for a number of years and we have grown and we have dedicated ourselves to support our airline and we continue to support,” Wabasse said.
It was also something, Wabasse said, that they wanted in their community and to be part of, as it will bring many new things to Webequie, including groceries, passenger service and also an airline that can service their community whenever they want one.
“Serving the North has its unique set of challenges. We’re going into areas that maybe don’t have the best infrastructure at the airports (and) weather reporting, but we’re also an essential service provider,” Stout said, adding that the airline really wanted to demonstrate its capacity and the amazing team at the facility.
“This isn’t a luxury to fly in the north. It’s a necessity and we really wanted to show our customers and communities our capabilities as a trusted partner in serving the north.”
However, this isn’t possible without the support of their staff and customers in their communities, Stout added, so “big thanks to everyone that helps make this possible.”
