This is a list of airports in Greenland, grouped by type and sorted by location. Air travel is extremely important in Greenland, since there are generally no roads between settlements. Arctic Umiaq Line provides passenger and freight services by sea but is limited to the southwest coast and travel time is long and departures sparse.
History
editThe first airports in Greenland were built by and for the United States defense. The first and largest was Kangerlussuaq Airport in 1941, followed by Narsarsuaq Airport in 1942 (and now-abandoned USAAF airfields Bluie East Two and Marrak Point, both in 1942) and Pituffik Space Base in 1953 (although Pituffik is not operated as a civilian airport) and Kulusuk Airport in 1956. Due to their distance from major settlements, these were not initially used for civilian travel. In the early 1960s, Greenlandair was founded, commencing civilian flights between the air bases, and helicopter and sea plane flights to large settlements. SAS operated the connection from Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq, beginning in 1954 as a fuel stop en route to United States, which was later taken over in 2000 by Air Greenland.
Beginning with Nuuk Airport in 1979 and Ilulissat Airport in 1983, several airports with short runways were built.
Airports
editMany locations in Greenland have Danish names in addition to their Greenlandic names. The Danish name, where applicable, is shown in italics. Airport or heliport names shown in bold indicate the facility has scheduled passenger service on a commercial airline.
Several of the airports do not have road connection with the local major settlement, so a helicopter transfer is often needed by most passengers to some airports. Airports with a very small population reachable by road include Kangerlussuaq Airport, Kulusuk Airport, Narsarsuaq Airport, Nerlerit Inaat Airport and Qaarsut Airport. 13 civil airports (not Pituffik Space Base) and 47 helipads in Greenland are operated by the state-owned enterprise Greenland Airport Authority (Mittarfeqarfiit).
Aerodromes
editThe following 14 airports are listed under AD 2 AERODROMES at Naviair.[1]
Location served | Municipality | ICAO | IATA | Airport name | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aasiaat (Egedesminde) | Qeqertalik | BGAA | JEG | Aasiaat Airport | [2] |
Ilulissat (Jakobshavn) | Avannaata | BGJN | JAV | Ilulissat Airport | [3] |
Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund) | Sermersooq | BGCO | CNP | Nerlerit Inaat Airport (Constable Pynt Airport) | [4] |
Kangerlussuaq (Søndre Strømfjord) | Qeqqata | BGSF | SFJ | Kangerlussuaq Airport (Sondrestrom Air Base) | [5] |
Kulusuk | Sermersooq | BGKK | KUS | Kulusuk Airport | [6] |
Maniitsoq (Sukkertoppen) | Qeqqata | BGMQ | JSU | Maniitsoq Airport | [7] |
Narsarsuaq | Kujalleq | BGBW | UAK | Narsarsuaq Airport (Narsarsuaq Air Base) | [8] |
Nuuk (Godthåb) | Sermersooq | BGGH | GOH | Nuuk Airport | [9] |
Paamiut (Frederikshåb) | Sermersooq | BGPT | JFR | Paamiut Airport | [10] |
Pituffik | Thule | BGTL | THU | Pituffik Space Base | [11] |
Qaanaaq | Avannaata | BGQQ | NAQ | Qaanaaq Airport | [12] |
Qaarsut / Uummannaq | Avannaata | BGUQ | JQA | Qaarsut Airport (Uummannaq Airport) | [13] |
Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg) | Qeqqata | BGSS | JHS | Sisimiut Airport | [14] |
Upernavik | Avannaata | BGUK | JUV | Upernavik Airport | [15] |
The following aerodromes also exist. They have no scheduled flights.
Location served | Municipality | ICAO | IATA | Airport name |
---|---|---|---|---|
Daneborg | Northeast Greenland National Park | BGDB | Daneborg Airport | |
Danmarkshavn | Northeast Greenland National Park | BGDH | Danmarkshavn Airport | |
Station Nord | Northeast Greenland National Park | BGNO | Nord Station | |
EastGRIP | Northeast Greenland National Park | EastGRIP | ||
Summit Camp | Northeast Greenland National Park | Summit Station | ||
Mestersvig | Northeast Greenland National Park | BGMV | Mestersvig Airport |
Not included and not open for flights anymore are the former United States Army Air Forces bases of Bluie East Two and Marrak Point.
Heliports
editThe following 47 heliports are listed under AD 4 HELIPORTS at Naviair.[16]
The following four heliports are not listed by Naviair.
Location served | Municipality | ICAO | IATA | Airport name | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Igaliku | Kujalleq | BGIO | QFX | Igaliku Heliport | [64] |
Kangilinnguit (Grønnedal) | Sermersooq | BGGD | JGR | Kangilinnguit Heliport | |
Moriusaq | Avannaata | BGMO | Moriusaq Heliport | ||
Saarloq | Kujalleq | BGSO | Saarloq Heliport (non-IATA identifier: QOQ) |
[65] |
Statistics
editMittarfeqarfiit only publishes statistics summarized for Atlantic airports (Kangerlussuaq and Narsarsuaq) and for other airports (11 airports). 13 airports are included, not Pituffik Space Base. [66]
2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Atlantic airports, passengers | 159,432 | 166,688 | 173,523 | 197,038 |
Other airports, passengers | 193,812 | 198,921 | 200,075 | 217,173 |
Heliports, passengers | 44,612 | 41,675 | 39,789 | 28,790 |
Atlantic airports, takeoffs | 7,988 | 8,286 | 7,653 | 8,209 |
Other airports, takeoffs | 15,069 | 16,007 | 16,958 | 15,691 |
Heliports, takeoffs | 10,646 | 11,289 | 9,533 | 7,623 |
Future
editAt a late 2011 Air Greenland meeting, plans to move the main Greenland intercontinental air hub away from Kangerlussuaq were agreed upon. From 2011 it has not been possible to buy new aircraft, except for very small ones, which can use the 800–900 m (2,600–3,000 ft) airstrips which are common in Greenland including Nuuk Airport. So something needs to be done before the fleet of Bombardier Dash 8 Q200 is retired in future (before 2030).
A decision was made in 2016 to extend the runways of both Nuuk airport and Ilulissat airport to 2,200 m (7,200 ft), allowing them to receive medium size jetliners from Denmark.[67][68] Also to replace Narsarsuaq with a new airport at Qaqortoq.[69] Construction start of Nuuk was late 2019.[70]
Alongside Kangerlussuaq, if airports at Qaqortoq, Tasiilaq and Ittoqqortoormiit are built, the airports at Narsarsuaq, Kulusuk and Nerlerit Inaat will also be closed.[71] The remaining airports in Greenland will keep their short size and smaller aircraft be used for them.
See also
edit- List of airlines of Greenland
- Air Greenland destinations
- Transport in Greenland
- Civil Aviation Administration Denmark (Statens Luftfartsvæsen) (former Civil Aviation Administration for Denmark, Greenland, Faroe Islands)
- List of airports by ICAO code: B#BG - Greenland
- Wikipedia: Airline destination lists: North America#Greenland (Denmark)
References
edit- "IATA Airline and Airport Code Search". International Air Transport Association.
- "UN Location Codes: Greenland". UN/LOCODE 2012-1. UNECE. 14 September 2012. – includes IATA codes
- ^ AD 2 AERODROMES
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGAA – Aasiaat Airport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGJN – Ilulissat Airport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGCO – Nerlerit Inaat Airport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGSF – Kangerlussuaq Airport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGKK – Kulusuk Airport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGMQ – Maniitsoq Airport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGBW – Narsarsuaq Airport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGGH – Nuuk Airport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGPT – Paamiut Airport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGTL – Thule Air Base Archived 2016-08-05 at the Wayback Machine from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGQQ – Qaanaaq Airport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGUQ – Uummannaq Qaarsut Airport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGSS – Sisimiut Airport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGUK – Upernavik Airport from Naviair
- ^ AD 4 HELIPORTS
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGAQ – Aappilattoq (Nanortalik) Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGAG – Aappilattoq (Upernavik) Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGAK – Akunaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGAP – Alluitsup Paa Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGAS – Ammassivik Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGAR – Arsuk Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGAT – Attu Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGET – Eqalugaarsuit Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGIG – Iginniarfik Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGIT – Ikamiut Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGIK – Ikerassaarsuk Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGIA – Ikerasak Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGIL – Ilimanaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGLL – Illorsuit Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGIN – Innarsuit Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGIS – Isortoq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGSC – Ittoqqortoormiit Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGKA – Kangaatsiaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGKS – Kangersuatsiaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGKT – Kitsissuarsuit Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGKQ – Kullorsuaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGKM – Kuummiut Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGNL – Nalunaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGNN – Nanortalik Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGNS – Narsaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGFD – Narsaq Kujalleq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGNK – Niaqornaarsuk Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGNT – Niaqornat Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGNQ – Nuugatsiaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGNU – Nuussuaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGJH – Qaqortoq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGCH – Qasigiannguit Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGQT – Qassimiut Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGQE – Qeqertaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGGN – Qeqertarsuaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGST – Saattut Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGSQ – Saqqaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGSV – Savissivik Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGSG – Sermiligaaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGSI – Siorapaluk Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGAM – Ammassalik Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGTQ – Tasiusaq (Nanortalik) Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGTA – Tasiusaq (Upernavik) Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGTN – Tiniteqilaaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGUT – Ukkusissat Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGKL – Upernavik Kujalleq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Greenland AIP for BGUM – Uummannaq Heliport from Naviair
- ^ Igaliku Archived 2016-05-06 at the Wayback Machine at Air Greenland
- ^ Saarloq Archived 2016-06-19 at the Wayback Machine at Air Greenland
- ^ "Årsregnskab" (in Danish). Mittarfeqarfiit. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
- ^ "Nuuk".
- ^ "Ilulissat".
- ^ "Qaqortoq".
- ^ Pressemeddelelse: Egenkapitalfinansiering og tidsplan for nye lufthavne i Ilulissat, Nuuk og Qaqortoq på plads
- ^ "Kangerlussuaq to be closed". Sermitsiaq, AG. 23 November 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2012.