Greenland gets a new runway as Nuuk Airport unveils 2,200m landing strip

Coming just a few days after Nuuk Airport (GOH) in Greenland opened a new passenger terminal, the facility has now cut the ribbon on its new 2,200m (7,216ft) tarmac runway. The new, lengthened runway will enable larger aircraft to use Nuuk Airport for the first time, with the facility taking over from Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ) which is located further to the north of the territory.

The previous runway at Nuuk was just 950m (3,116ft) in length, limiting the airport’s ability to handle larger passenger aircraft and restricting it to operations by types such as the De Havilland Canada DHC-8s of Air Greenland, the local carrier.

The opening of the new runway at Nuuk comes as the second phase of investment in Greenland’s aviation infrastructure comes to fruition. The airport’s new terminal opened to handle its first flights earlier in November 2024, while a completely new airport in the town of Ilulissat remains under construction and is scheduled to open in 2026. Ilulissat is located around 350 miles (560 km) to the north of Nuuk. Lastly, another new airport will be opened in Qaqartoq, the biggest town in the south of Greenland, later in the decade.   

GCmap.comThe lengthened runway at Nuuk has already opened up new opportunities and new routes from Greenland’s capital city, as the territory seeks to become a new destination for travelers from Europe and North America. Air Greenland has already transferred its daily flagship service to Copenhagen, Denmark from Kangerlussuaq Airport with the daily Airbus A330-800neo service bringing potentially over 300 passengers on each flight to the Nuuk region.  

Meanwhile, Icelandair is due to increase services to Greenland in 2025, scaling up its flights from Reykjavik (KEF) to its Boeing 737-8 MAX fleet for the northern summer season. SAS Scandinavian Airline will also be offering direct services from Nuuk in the summer of 2025, while in a major coup for the airport, US megacarrier United Airlines will launch twice-weekly services from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Nuuk on June 14, 2025, using 150-seat Boeing 737 MAX 8s.   

With the new runway opening on November 28, 2024, it will be Air Greenland’s A330-800neo that will operate the airport’s first commercial service using the newly opened runway. At the time of writing, flight GL781 departed from Copenhagen (CPH) Airport at 11:13 on November 28, 2024, and is due to arrive at Nuuk at 12:35 local time. The return flight to Copenhagen is scheduled to depart Nuuk at 14:35 local time.

AirbusConstruction of the new runway at Nuuk began in 2019 and the airport has kept operational throughout the construction phase of the project. In total, almost six million cubic meters of rock were moved to support the airport terminal and runway construction.

“Nuuk Airport will be the new hub for international and domestic flights to the entire country, where passengers will change planes depending on their final destination, just as we see today in Kangerlussuaq,” said the airline’s CEO Jacob Nitter Sørensen.

The airline has spent the days leading up to November 28, 2024, moving its staff and equipment from Kangerlussuaq Airport to Nuuk Airport following its last departure from its former base on November 26, 2024.

Built by the Americans during the Second World War, Kangerlussuaq was one of only two runways on Greenland long enough to handle larger passenger aircraft, the other being Narsarsuaq Airport (UAK) in the far south of the country, which was also a former US military base. Nuuk Airport will take over from both of these as Greenland’s primary international gateway.

The importance of the new runway at Nuuk will become evident as not only is it expected to give the Greenland tourism industry a much-needed boost, but airlines will also welcome having another diversion airfield available for flights crossing the North Atlantic should the need arise.

RELATED

British Airways adds three new Italian routes: Rimini, Salerno, and Olbia

The post Greenland gets a new runway as Nuuk Airport unveils 2,200m landing strip appeared first on AeroTime.

Go to Source