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Greenland sets sights on tourist boost as new international airport opens next month

Simon Calder’s Travel

Greenland is set to open a new international airport next month, aiming to entice more adventure tourists and visitors to the ice-capped territory by making it more accessible.

From 28 November, visitors to Greenland’s capital Nuuk will be able to get a direct flight to the city for the very first time, via jetplane from Copenhagen, Denmark.

The new airport marks the beginning of a series of openings, with two other airports in Ilulissat and Qaqortoq, in South Greenland, opening by 2026 which will allow visitors to reach either side of the country within an hour and a half.

Routes have already been scheduled from Nuuk to Copenhagen this winter, with five weekly flights available, which will increase to six during the holiday season and peaking at eight in the summer.

Visit Greenland, the territory’s tourist board says the new airports will be more frequent and cost-effective than its current routes, as well as making the country increasingly accessible for adventure tourists and explorers to their dramatic natural landscapes.

A Dash 8 airplane from Air Greenland on the tarmac of new runway in Nuuk, Greenland

A Dash 8 airplane from Air Greenland on the tarmac of new runway in Nuuk, Greenland (Getty Images)

Currently, anyone from Europe wishing to make it to Nuuk must first fly to the former military airport of Kangerlussuaq from Copenhagen, and then change planes for a domestic transfer, which costs time and money and is not wholly convenient for people living in other countries outside of Denmark.

Those travelling from North America or the UK are advised to do something similar, such as flying to Iceland and then changing to a flight to Nuuk.

Construction of the new runway at Nuuk started in 2020, measuring lengths of 2,200 metres that will allow for direct flights from North America and Europe to land in the future.

Nuuk’s airport has also been built with two taxiways, a tower, and a terminal area for passengers along with other service buildings.

Many visitors currently flying to Nuuk have to make at least one transfer along the way

Many visitors currently flying to Nuuk have to make at least one transfer along the way (Getty Images)

The project was initially scheduled to be completed in 2023, but due to setbacks from the Covid-19 pandemic, Kalaallit Airports, Greenland’s airport group, had to delay the opening to 2024.

Kalaallit Airports also announced in 2021 that they would be partnering with Spanish company Comsa who will…

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