New 2,200-meter runway at Nuuk Airport will allow larger planes to connect the Arctic territory.
The new international airport, equipped with a 2,200-meter (7,217-foot) runway, is opening today in the capital of Nuuk. The new runway will allow larger planes to connect the Arctic territory with the rest of the world.
It’s going to be a big day in the remote capital of Greenland on November 28 when Air Greenland’s flagship Airbus A330-800neo lands from Copenhagen, Denmark at Nuuk International Airport.
It will be the first direct flight between the two capitals and the start of an aviation revolution on the world’s largest island.
After Nuuk, two more airports are being opened by the end of 2026, part of an $800 million (NZ$1.3 billion) investment in infrastructure on the least densely populated nation on the planet. With 57,000 people, it is roughly the same size as Whangārei city.
Previously anyone wanting to visit Nuuk had to land 319km north at the former military airport of Kangerlussuaq, and then take a smaller connecting flight to the capital.
Jacob Nitter Sorensen, chief executive of national carrier Air Greenland, said the new airport is a “game changer”.
“It’s going to shorten the travel time, and it's going to decrease the cost of producing the flight.”
Construction of the new 2200m-long runway at Nuuk started in 2020 and more than 6 million cubic metres of rock has been removed.
Other airlines are onboard with the new airport. Next year, United Airlines will begin flying from New York, and SAS will offer direct flights between Copenhagen and Nuuk during the peak summer season. Icelandair will also operate larger aircraft from Reykjavik.
Previously Jens Lauridsen, managing director of Kalaallit Airports, called the new airport an eagerly awaited milestone: “We take immense pride in reaching this pivotal moment where we announce the completion and opening of the airport."
Greenland is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark and tourism has been growing quickly. In 2023, visitor numbers were more than 140,000, that’s up 36.5% from 2022.
The government are hoping to strike the right balance between tourism and sustainability.
