A professional photographer from Calgary made the pilgrimage to the Yukon to get a unique view of the Aurora Borealis high above the Arctic Circle.
Last week, an Air North Boeing 737 aircraft departed Whitehorse, Yukon at midnight for the Aurora 360 flight to lights. Neil Zeller was among the 91 passengers on the four hour flight and, as the official photographer of the flight, secured a seat in the cockpit and helped the pilots navigate through the northern lights.
The passengers, who heralded from 17 different countries, were treated to their first glimpse of the Aurora Borealis mere minutes into the sightseeing trip.
“We were able to track the northern lights because it’s a charter specifically for that,” explained Zeller. “We’re able to steer the plane wherever we wanted to send it.”
The Calgary-based photographer says the experience exceeded his expectations.
“The excitement was beyond real. An opportunity like that comes around once in a lifetime. As the photographer on the flight I was responsible for capturing the images that would be seen around the world.”
The excursion was the result of a joint effort involving Air North, Tourism Yukon and the group that came up with the idea, the Yukon Astronomical Society.
"This was the ultimate aurora hunting tour," said Robin Anderson, Tourism Yukon's global marketing manager. "We had a plane essentially at our disposal and our pilots armed with amazing information from the Yukon Astronomical Society."
"They had the flight path designed to maximize the aurora viewing experience."
The popularity of the flight, believed to be the first of its kind in North America, has prompted Air North officials to plan another Aurora 360 flight for early in 2018.
With files from CTV’s Jaclyn Brown
