In Greenland, the last of three airport projects is now open. Ilulissat International opened on 29 October, and an Air Greenland Airbus A330neo arrived non-stop from Copenhagen that day, the first widebody to use the upgraded field12. The Associated Press, which had a reporter on board, counted 169 passengers, Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen among them, on a flight of about four and a half hours3.

Three aircraft types in six months

The A330-800 OY-GKN, named Tuukkaq, flew the opening service. Regular flights start in November, when Jettime operates the route on Air Greenland's behalf with a 180-seat Boeing 737-80042. Air Greenland expects this arrangement to last until its own Airbus A320neo, Unaaq, arrives in spring 2027 and takes over4. Airliner World gives April as the changeover date and OY-GRL as the registration2.

The winter schedule has one direct flight a week, on Wednesdays, with a second on Mondays over Christmas and New Year and from 1 to 27 March 2027. On other days passengers connect through Nuuk4. Next summer brings up to six weekly rotations at the peak23. Icelandair has three weekly flights from Keflavík scheduled between 3 June and 16 October 20272. Jens Lauridsen, the outgoing CEO of Greenland Airports, told AP the company also hopes to attract US and mainland European airlines53.

A 2,200 m runway replaces an 845 m strip

The old runway measured 845 m. The new one is 2,200 m long, and a new 5,000 sq m terminal has been built2. AP notes that the runway is long enough for larger passenger aircraft3. The original field opened in 1984 as part of Greenland's network of short take-off and landing airports, which made fixed-wing flights with the de Havilland Canada Dash 7 possible6. Until now, reaching Ilulissat meant a cruise ship, a small aircraft from Iceland or a connecting flight from one of Greenland's international hubs3.

An Air Greenland Dash 8 from Nuuk had already landed that morning as the first scheduled arrival on the new runway. The Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq also reported that the A330neo pilot flew over the town to greet residents before landing, and that Air Greenland CEO Jacob Nitter Sørensen told passengers five of the crew members came from Ilulissat5.

Moving away from old military gateways

For decades Greenland's main international gateways were the former US military bases at Kangerlussuaq and Narsarsuaq, with onward flights by smaller aircraft, AP notes3. Nuuk's expanded airport opened in November 2024 and Qaqortoq followed in April this year2. United Airlines started a seasonal Newark to Nuuk route last year, AP adds3. Readers following route and fleet changes can find more in our airline news and on our airline pages.

Tourism is meant to diversify the economy

Ilulissat has about 5,000 residents and sits roughly 250 km north of the Arctic Circle, beside an icefjord that UNESCO listed as a World Heritage Site in 2004327. The government wants tourism to broaden an economy still reliant on fishing3. Nielsen called the airport "one of the biggest investments" in the island's history and linked it to independence from Denmark: "If Greenland wants to be independent, we need to have a strong foundation, both economically and in terms of industry and business," he told AP3.

According to AP, international visitors rose by at least 65% from 2018 to almost 150,000 in 2024, yet tourism was under 5% of GDP that year, and hotel capacity remains limited3. Former regional mayor Palle Jerimiassen is wary of the pressure on the town. "How many can we invite?" he told AP. "We are welcoming all the tourists, it's a possibility to earn some new money." He added: "But we have to be careful"3.