Travelling to Greenland is about to get easier as new international airport opens
CTV
The new international airport in Nuuk, equipped with a 2,200-metre runway, will allow larger planes to connect the Arctic territory with the rest of the world.
When most people think of Greenland, they think of the cold, the snow and how remote it is.
Two out of three of those things are unlikely to change any time soon, but as of Nov. 28, it’s about to get a lot less remote.
That's thanks to a new international airport, equipped with a 2,200-metre runway, opening in the capital of Nuuk. The new airport will allow larger planes to connect the Arctic territory with the rest of the world.
And starting in June, United Airlines will offer nonstop seasonal flights from Newark, New Jersey, that will take just over four hours.
Already, 130,000 visitors a year come to Greenland on cruise ships or fly in. It's a number expected to grow as the region opens up to tourism, but one that officials hope will not become too unwieldy.
Before the new airport’s opening, travelling by air to Greenland meant flying into smaller cities such as Kangerlussuaq to the north or Narsarsuaq, further south. As former U.S. military bases built during World War II, both are able to accommodate larger planes.
The new airport will serve as the base for Air Greenland, which will operate an Airbus A330neo plane on a route to Copenhagen, Denmark. It will be able to handle 800 passengers an hour. Flights will also link Nuuk to Reykjavik, Iceland.
