The settlement it serves is small, with the airport primarily functioning as a transfer point for passengers heading for the helicopter hubs of Air Greenland in Qaqortoq and Nanortalik.
The airport is due to be closed in late 2026 when Qaqortoq Airport is scheduled to open.[2][3]
History
Air Greenland Boeing 757 at Narsarsuaq Airport in 2003
A military hospital with 250 beds was completed in 1943. Approximately 4,000 people were stationed at the base during the war. It is estimated that, during that time, more than 10,000 aircraft were ferried through the airbase. On 6 July 1942, the supply ship SS Montrose was wrecked on a cliff in the Tunulliarfik Fjord southwest of the airbase. The first aircraft from the Danish Air Force stationed at Narsarsuaq was a PBY Catalina in 1947 and a B-17 Flying Fortress in 1948.[citation needed]
After the war
Air Greenland served all primary heliports in southern Greenland with a Sikorsky S-61N helicopter until the mid 2010s.
Civil air traffic began in 1949 with Douglas DC-4 propliners operated by Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and Icelandair. US and Denmark signed The Agreement related to the defense of Greenland on 27 April 1951, with both countries agreeing to share the Bluie West One airbase. In 1952, the Danish Air Force stationed Airgroup West with a PBY Catalina at the airport.
The US Air Force left Bluie West One in November 1958,[4] and the airbase was closed. In January 1959, M/S Hans Hedtoft of Denmark and all on board were lost near the southern tip of Greenland. The Danish Authorities decided to reopen the airport soon after. From November 1959, the Danish Air Force had three PBY Catalinas stationed at Narsarsuaq with the assignment to make ice-observations along the coast of Greenland, and these observations were broadcast to ships in the area.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Greenlandair and SAS both served Narsarsuaq with Douglas DC-6 propliners[5] while Icelandair operated Boeing 727 jets. During the 1980s, SAS operated Douglas DC-8 jets at Narsarsuaq. Since 1 January 1988, the airport has been operated by Mittarfeqarfiit, the Greenland Airport Administration. Ice-observations are still based at Narsarsuaq and carried out with the AS350 Eurocopter aircraft.
Decline
The airport served as a regional focus city for Air Greenland until the late 2000s, when tough economic conditions forced the airline to raise the low season prices several times.[6][7] In 2009, the airline announced the sale of Kunuunnguaq,[8] a Boeing 757-200, one of two airliners in the fleet, serving the Narsarsuaq-Copenhagen route.
Later in 2009, Air Greenland planned to introduce a triangular route between Narsarsuaq, Nuuk, and Reykjavík-Keflavík, using its newly aquired de Havilland Canada Dash-8 200 turboprops.[9] Air Greenland's route to Reykjavík-Keflavík never materialised due to low ticket sales,[10] adding to resentment amongst businesses and the community of South Greenland.[11]
With Air Greenland's Boeing 757 sold on 26 April 2010,[12] the southern Greenland remained without a direct connection to continental Europe.[13] The 2008 financial crisis and the air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption both contributed to lower passenger demand, while competition from Air Iceland on the route to Iceland rendered the prospected Air Greenland route to Denmark unprofitable, leading directly to the decline in traffic in southern Greenland.[13] In 2012, flights to/from Copenhagen restarted in the summer by chartering a separate operator.
Air Iceland continued to serve seasonal flights to Reykjavík Airport using Fokker 50 aircraft, as it had done in years before.[14]Icelandair (merged branding with Air Iceland Connect in 2021), redirected its flights to Reykjavík-Keflavík Airport (KEF) in 2022, from Reykjavík Airport (RKV).[15] Icelandair had flown Narsarsuaq to Keflavík previously when it operated Boeing 727 jets. The airline began serving Narsarsuaq with Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in 2024, but reverted to using Dash 8 aircraft the following summer.[16][17]
Qaqortoq Airport is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in late 2026. This eliminates the need for Narsarsuaq as a domestic and Iceland-bound gateway to South Greenland. In 2022, the Greenlandic government decided that Narsarsuaq will be downscaled to a heliport, losing the runway.[18]General aviation and ferry flights crossing the North Atlantic ocean will be redirected to other airports for refuelling, such as Qaqortoq Airport, which will have a similar runway length and operational capability as Narsarsuaq Airport. Narsarsuaq village will remain inhabited, though the future loss of the airport function is already having its toll.[19]
The first Greenland Air Trophy took place at Narsarsuaq Airport, 30 June 2019. The winning pilot was Rene Petersen of Greenland, second and third places both taken by French pilots.
Facilities
In the terminal there is a simple cafeteria, a duty-free 'Nanoq' shop,[20] as well as a small tourist office, which helps coordinate general aviation activities at the airport.
On 13 May 1957, a DC-4 freight aircraft operated by United States Overseas Airlines hit the icecap on approach to Narsarsuaq. Two were killed, of three on board.[25]
On 5 August 2001, Dassault Falcon 20C freight aircraft of Naske Air crashed on approach to Narsarsuaq. It planned a fuel stop, going from Poland to the US. All the three people onboard were killed, including a passenger.[26]
Ground transport
Transfers to local settlements are normally done by boat or helicopter flights. Diskoline sells tickets to boats to Narsaq and Qaqortoq. Boats require a bus transfer since the port is around 2.5km (1.5mi) from the terminal.[27]
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