The airport is located north-east of Ilulissat, just 2.8 kilometres (1.7 mi) of city centre. It was built in 1983,[3] replacing the heliport.[3] The airport is the main hub out of three used by Air Greenland.
Airport expansion
Airport terminal
The purpose of Ilulissat Airport has been debated in Greenland for decades; there has been pressure for runway extension from the local tourist industry and municipal authorities.[4] Currently a new airport is being built slated to open in 2024, but delays might push it to 2025 or later.[5] The expansion of the airport will feature a 2,200 m × 60 m (7,218 ft × 197 ft)[6] runway to let the airport receive direct international airliner flights from mainland Europe and the Americas.[7][8] It will be located just north of the present airport.[9] The new airport will be able to facilitate direct routes from international airports directly to Ilulissat. There is a general debate on extending or replacing most airports in Greenland, since most are either ill located former air bases, or very short.
Air Greenland operates government contract flights to villages in the Disko Bay area. These mostly cargo flights are not featured in the timetable, although they can be pre-booked.[13] Departure times for these flights as specified during booking are by definition approximate, with the settlement service optimized on the fly depending on local demand for a given day. Settlement flights in the Disko Bay and Aasiaat archipelago areas are operated only during winter and spring. During summer and autumn, communication between settlements is by sea only, serviced by Diskoline.[14]
Accidents and incidents
On 29 January 2014, a De Havilland DHC-8 operated by Air Greenland (Flight 3205) suffered substantial damage in a landing accident. On landing, the left main gear collapsed and the plane skidded down a slope and came to a rest near the perimeter fence. This caused three injuries, not serious, and the aircraft was scrapped. The cause was a pilot error in difficult wind conditions.[15]
^"BGJN – Ilulissat"(xls). AIP Denmark. Copenhagen: Trafikstyrelsen/Danish Transport Authority. 28 June 2012. part AD 2 – BGJN. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
