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A new Chief and Council was just elected to lead the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and preparations are underway for their inauguration in Pukatawagan. However, a winter storm is threatening to ground all flights. With the clock winding down and the pressure mounting, Missinippi Airway’s management team swings into action to fly up food and guests just in time for the big event.

Winds of change are in the forecast for Manitoba’s First Nation owned Missinippi Airways. With the newly elected Chief in the house, management is under the gun to finish moving their maintenance operations into new headquarters and prepare the airline’s two recently acquired jets for their inaugural flights.

An early winter snowfall is creating big problems at Missinippi’s Grace Lake terminal. As the maintenance team struggles to keep the runway open, word comes in that train service to Puk has been cancelled leading to a spike in passenger demand. As the stress and snow pile up, the team must work around the clock to keep planes and people moving.

While the aircraft maintenance team in Winnipeg are getting accustomed to their new facility, a demanding aircraft inspection makes it harder to keep their planes in the air. At the Grace Lake terminal, frigid winter weather creates a new mechanical problem that delays passenger service to Pukatawagan. While pilots get all the glory, they can’t fly the plane without the ‘below the wing’ team.

As the third generation in a family of Indigenous pilots, Kerri-Ann Sweeny inherited the aviation gene. With her sights set on Missinippi’s medevac program, Kerri-Ann is building up her hours flying scheduled service from Grace Lake. Despite the long hours, freezing weather, and heavy bags, each flight brings her one step closer to her dream, flying alongside her father, medevac Capt. Tim Sweeny.

When a blast of cold weather halts train service to the remote northern Manitoba community of Pukatawagan, the community must rely on Missinippi Airways to keep food and supplies flowing in from the south. While the Grace Lake flight team supports Puk with essential cargo, Chief and Council demand to know why the government won’t officially open their winter road.

After months of flying passengers and cargo out of Grace Lake, an opening in Missinippi’s medevac program puts pilot Kerri-Ann Sweeny in the First Officer seat, alongside her Dad, Capt. Tim Sweeny. Flying through her first gruelling 13-day medevac rotation, fatigue, bad weather, and mechanical issues test these pilots, but together, a father and daughter realize their dream.

Passengers and cargo are backing up in Grace Lake. With maximum pilot hours and mechanical snags grounding some of Missinippi’s Navajos and the Caravan, a larger capacity plane purchased to fly this route undergoing maintenance upgrades, Flight Operations Manager Kevin Kowalchuk feels the pressure to juggle planes and pilots. With his stress level rising, Kevin seeks solace in the great outdoors.

Operating a growing northern airline is difficult at the best of times. When an expensive full engine replacement on one of the medevac planes is delayed by missing parts, a new mechanical issue grounds another plane. As the pressure rises, the maintenance team works around the clock to get these birds back in service. The big boss trades his desk for the cockpit when a medevac pilot is downed by the flu.

Forest fires are sweeping across northern Manitoba, forcing the evacuation of many remote First Nations. To keep the few people who stand guard in Pukatawagan supplied with food, water and fuel, Missinippi’s flight crew is racing to train more pilots for its newly retrofitted Caravan cargo plane. Its arrival at the Grace Lake terminal couldn’t have come at a better time.

As wildfires rage across northern Manitoba, and the crisis worsens, new Missinippi pilots learn to fly through heat and smoke to keep the community of Pukatawagan supplied. A new fire forces the evacuation of another First Nation, so the Grace Lake crew mounts an urgent rescue mission to fly evacuees to Winnipeg.

Heat from a Manitoba summer creates new aviation challenges for Missinippi. Just as the Director of Maintenance leaves for vacation, four medevac planes are grounded by mechanical snags. Father and daughter medevac pilots Tim and Kerri-Ann Sweeny team up with a new paramedic but they’re grounded in Winnipeg until maintenance can get their birds out of the barn, and back in the air.

It’s been a year of change for Manitoba’s only First Nation owned airway. After months of testing and certifications, the two jets Missinippi acquired are finally ready to enter the medevac fleet, expanding the airlines’ reach across Canada. A dispatch call sends one of the jets on a medevac mission to Ontario, where the senior flight team shows why the sky is the limit for Missinippi.

Meet one of Canada’s few First Nation owned airlines. Operating in some of the most challenging aviation conditions in the world, they are a lifeline for remote Indigenous communities. From the small airport they own and operate in northern Manitoba, meet the people who are the backbone of this airline. A young Indigenous pilot, fresh out of flight school, takes off on her first test flight.

Follow a Missinippi medivac flight crew along their 13-day rotation. Flying around the clock, the schedule is tough on pilots and paramedics, but especially for single moms. An injured young child is flown to Winnipeg for medical treatment.

For northern Manitoba’s Missinippi Airways, flight safety is their number one concern. Flying air ambulance, passenger and cargo flights through harsh weather and gravel runways is tough on pilots…but also their planes. When one of their medivac planes suffers a mechanical issue, Missinippi’s maintenance team comes to the rescue.

At this small First Nation owned airline, the next generation of pilots are reshaping this once male dominated industry. Born out of necessity three decades ago, Missinippi Airways has grown to become one of Manitoba’s largest air ambulance providers. After starting her career flying passengers to and from Pukatawagan, a pilot tries to earn a seat on Missinippi’s medivac program.

Flying through harsh weather is routine in this part of the world but when winter approaches, and the fog rolls in, pilots and passengers are at the mercy of mother nature. At this time of year, keeping their runway open and planes in the air is a constant challenge for Missinippi’s runway crew. With low lying fog grounding their flights, two pilots must decide if it’s safe to fly passengers to Pukatawagan.

At this small First Nation owned airline, success depends on developing pilots who can handle the unique challenges of northern aviation. However, that’s not easy to do when you’re competing against the lure of the big airlines. One medivac pilot undergoes his annual flight certification while two dispatchers in Winnipeg get promoted to the flight line.

For Manitoba’s Missinippi Airways, developing new pilots is a year-round challenge. As a small northern carrier, it takes a team effort to train pilots and keep their fleet in the air. After being called up from dispatch to the flight line, one pilot is injured on his flight up to Grace Lake. Another pilot takes his flight test to certify as a Captain on the airlines’ Navajo program, flying passengers to and from Pukatawagan.

In northern Manitoba, flying through bad weather and poor visibility is part of life. However, when the first winter storm hits their Grace Lake terminal, Missinippi Airways encounters a whole new set of aviation challenges. With passengers and freight backing up thanks to heavy snow, a medivac crew is brought in to help with the problem.

For northern Manitoba’s Missinippi Airways, maintaining their Grace Lake runway is essential to keeping their passenger and medivac fleet in the air. When the deep freeze arrives in this part of Canada, planes and machinery start to break down. With heavy snow in the forecast and their runway grader not in operation, the ingenuity of Missinippi’s maintenance crew is put to the test.

As one of Canada’s only First Nation owned airlines, leadership from the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation oversee Missinippi’s operations. However, managing this airline’s rapid growth falls squarely on the shoulders of senior management. With their medivac air program reaching new heights, Missinippi Airways has outgrown their current head office while working to rebrand their fleet.

Many new pilots head north to Missinippi Airways as their gateway to the big airlines but for some more experienced pilots, Missinippi is a way to move back home. As deep cold halts railway service to Pukatawagan, Missinippi’s passenger service becomes a lifeline for the community. A new medivac crew flies together on their first thirteen-day rotation from Missinippi’s new hangar at the Winnipeg International Airport.

At northern Manitoba’s Missinippi Airways, medivac pilots must do much more than fly a plane. When injuries or illness affect their medivac crews, someone is always trained and ready to take their place. A young pilot works her way up from the airlines passenger program to become one of Missinippi’s youngest medivac Captains.

For this small northern airline, adapting to change is a constant challenge, but some changes are bigger than others. With the departure of one of the airline’s key managers, others find an opportunity for advancement. A new First Officer arrives from Brazil and gets a crash course in the unique challenges of northern aviation.