The world’s largest island will build three new airports – with one of them opening later this year

The world’s largest island is planning to open three new airports, the first of which will be launched this year.

The ambitious plan will see the frozen Greenland’s tundra receives more passengers in a bid to boost tourism.

7

7

7

The Danish-controlled island is home to more than 56,000 people, spread thinly across its coastal towns.

With freezing temperatures of -25ºC and only a few small airports, Greenland is not the most popular or easiest destination to travel to.

Currently, visitors can fly into just two airports on the island that can handle jets before being transferred to a domestic flight.

Tourists are forced to board a small propeller plane if they want to reach the capital Nuuk.

To avoid complications for travelers, authorities decided to build three more airports that will be equipped for international flights.

Jens Lauridsen, CEO of Greenland Airports, said oB1M: “Greenland’s economy is very dependent on fish, which means it has a certain type of vulnerability.

“There is a desire to strengthen the economy by building new pillars – one of the pillars is tourism.

“About 60 to 65% of all people who go to Greenland actually go to Nuuk.

“And today you will have to fly to another airport and then you will have to take a domestic flight to get to Nuuk.”

The capital’s current airport is expected to be renovated by November 28, 2024, with plans to double its runway to 2.2 km.

Nuuk Airport will be equipped with a new terminal with apron, two taxiways, a new control tower and service buildings.

Ilululissat airport, the third largest city in Greenland, will have identical transformations and a runway with the same length.

The longer runways will allow both airports to accommodate large aircraft, which will open doors for international travel.

To facilitate low visibility landings, they are also being equipped with instrument landing systems.

Pilots often face low-lying fog in the area when trying to land a plane on the icy island.

Greenland’s slopes are also often covered in snow or completely frozen and some airports are surrounded by huge fjords that can produce erratic wind gusts.

The third airport will be smaller than the other two and will open in the southern part of the island, in Qaqortoq.

It will be the city’s first airport and used mainly for domestic flights, with a 1,500-meter runway and a maximum capacity of 200 passengers at a time.

Illulisat and Qaqortoq are now scheduled for completion in 2026.

But building in Arctic tundra has been complicated by subzero temperatures and arid soil with a layer of permafrost beneath.

Construction can only take place during the summer months and must come to a complete halt between December and April.

To begin building the two larger airports, around six million cubic meters of rock – twice the volume of the Great Pyramid – had to be destroyed.

Lauridsen said: “Most of the time we’ve spent on construction so far has actually been drilling, blasting and moving rock.

“We literally blew up a mountain to create enough space for a 1.4-mile track.”

The massive project is estimated to cost the Danish and Greenland governments a whopping £563 million.

But with tourism bringing in around £225 million to the island’s economy each year, airports should quickly pay off.

It comes as Greece is about to build a huge £422 million airport to deal with the growing number of tourists flocking to the island.

When it opens in 2027, Kastelli International Airport will replace the existing Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport in Heraklion.

Meanwhile, the UAE has plans to open the world’s biggest airport – although passenger flights may be a long way off.

Al Maktoum International Airport, also known as Dubai World Central, began receiving passenger flights in 2013.

The airport, located 32 kilometers southwest of Dubai, had ambitious plans to become the largest and busiest airport in the world.

Currently, the title of largest airport in the world is held by King Fahd International Airport – the entire area being eight times larger than Paris.

The airport near Dammam was built in 1999 and is named after Saudi Arabia’s king, Fahd ibn Abdulaziz, who reigned for 23 years before his death in 2005.

Operating at the airport are 37 airlines serving 43 destinations.

7

7

7