Greenland’s new international airport at Ilulissat opened on 29 October after approval from the Danish Civil Aviation and Railway Authority. Operated by Greenland Airports, the facility has a 2,200-metre runway and a 5,000-square-metre terminal, enabling larger passenger aircraft to serve the west-coast town directly. Air Greenland marked the opening with an inaugural Copenhagen–Ilulissat flight operated by an Airbus A330neo, carrying 169 passengers on the 4.5-hour journey.
The new route removes the need for passengers to connect through another Greenland airport or transfer to smaller aircraft to reach Ilulissat, a tourism centre in the Disko Bay region near the UNESCO-listed Ilulissat Icefjord. Air Greenland plans up to six weekly Copenhagen flights during the peak summer period in 2027. Icelandair is also expected to serve Ilulissat from its Keflavik hub; neither carrier’s future planned schedule should be confused with the services in place at opening.
Operations at the airport will expand in phases, with opening hours and activity increasing towards full operations targeted for summer 2027. Ilulissat is the last of three new Greenland airports to open, following Nuuk in November 2024 and Qaqortoq in April 2026. While improved access may support tourism and cargo or regional business links, accommodation and other local infrastructure remain limited, and concerns about pressure from mass tourism persist.