Iqaluit airport staff have had to de-ice runways more often over the past month due to warmer than expected temperatures. (CBC)

Mild winter temperatures in Iqaluit are wreaking havoc at the local airport, which not only has to worry about ice-slicked runways, but also its reputation as an Arctic testing ground for aircraft makers.

A warm spell in the Nunavut capital, ongoing since December, has brought moisture to the airport's runway surface that would be dry during the normally frigid winter.

Keeping that runway ice-free, so planes can land safely, has airport staff using up two winters' worth of de-icer in the past 3½ weeks, airport manager John Graham told CBC News.

"That's unprecedented. In my 15 years at Iqaluit airport, I've never seen a situation like that ever, ever before," Graham said Tuesday.

"Every application of anti-icer, or de-icer material, that goes down here on the runway surface is using up about $20,000 worth of our stockpile," he added. "It's quite an expensive proposition."

The daytime high in Iqaluit on Tuesday was around –9 C, well above the normal high of –22 C for this time of year, according to Environment Canada.

Warmer winter forecast

It was even warmer on Monday, when temperatures peaked at –5.5 C. By contrast, the average temperature for January and February in Iqaluit is around –27 C.

"For December, January and February, originally it was showing below normal temperatures over the eastern Arctic," said Yvonne Bilan-Wallace, a meteorologist with Environment Canada in Edmonton.

"Now they're forecasting above normal temperatures for the winter."

Graham said that the unseasonably mild winter being forecast could jeopardize lucrative contracts for the airport, which is an internationally known cold-weather testing site.

Manufacturers come to Iqaluit every winter to test their aircraft in temperatures ideally around –40 C.

Graham said there are huge economic spinoffs to having those manufacturers staying in Iqaluit hotels, dining at local restaurants and shopping at local stores.

"There is quite a bit of risk here, and you can probably sense a bit of worry," he said.

Graham said he hopes the slightly warmer weather projections will not scare away the companies already scheduled to test three aircraft in Iqaluit this winter.