Greenland opens new international airport in Ilulissat

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‘Historic milestone’ for Greenland as new airport opens in Ilulissat euronews.com

A new international airport opened in Ilulissat on Greenland's west coast on Thursday, the third and final airport in the territory's expansion programme after Nuuk in late 2024 and Qaqortoq in April. The Ilulissat runway, at 2,200 metres, can take larger aircraft, and Air Greenland launched a direct Copenhagen route the same day, operated by Jettime with a Boeing 737-800 and initially flying on Wednesdays. Greenland Airports, the operator, called the three airports a new backbone for the country's infrastructure. CEO Jens Lauridsen said the openings "fundamentally change how the country is connected internally and how Greenland is connected to the rest of the world." Icelandair will run a seasonal Keflavík service from June 2027, with the airport targeted for full operation by that summer. The upgrades were partly funded by Denmark and are aimed at tourism and local economic development around Disko Bay and the UNESCO-listed icefjord. The opening carries weight beyond timetables. Greenland's previous main gateway, Kangerlussuaq, was a former American air base — aviation access was long shaped by military geography and the Copenhagen connection. Direct international routes from civilian hubs reduce dependence on both, and come while Washington continues to talk about acquiring the island. Chairman Jens Wittrup Willumsen framed the stakes in decades: "With the three new airports, Greenland has a foundation that future generations can build on." Concrete and runway length are slower than treaties but harder to reverse. Nuuk has changed the negotiating terrain without signing anything in Washington's direction.