Ilulissat International Airport in Greenland Opens

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 29, the new international airport in Ilulissat, Greenland, officially opened. The runway is 2,200 meters long, replacing the previous 845-meter runway, and can accommodate wide-body aircraft for takeoff and landing; the Danish transport authority Trafikstyrelsen completed final approval the night before, and an Air Greenland A330neo flew from Copenhagen to Ilulissat to operate the inaugural flight.

Starting in November, Jettime will operate direct flights between Copenhagen and Ilulissat using Boeing 737-800 aircraft, mainly on Wednesdays, with additional Monday flights during Christmas, New Year, and March; in April 2027, Air Greenland's A320neo will take over the route, increasing to up to 6 flights per week during the summer peak season.

The airport is the last of Greenland's three new airport construction projects; the new Nuuk airport opened in November 2024, and Qaqortoq Airport opened in April 2026; the airport is operated by Kalaallit Airports, with Munck Gruppen carrying out the runway and civil works, and the Nordic Investment Bank providing a DKK 450 million 20-year loan for the development of the Nuuk and Ilulissat airports, with a sovereign guarantee from the Danish government.

The approval from the Danish transport authority includes temporary conditions, and the airport's flight capacity will be gradually increased during the initial operating phase; Greenland Airports stated that the goal is to achieve full operations by the summer of 2027.