Qaarsut Airport Mittarfik Qaarsut Uummannaq/Qaarsut Airport | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Operator | Greenland Airport Authority (Mittarfeqarfiit) | ||||||||||
Serves | Qaarsut and Uummannaq, Greenland | ||||||||||
Location | Qaarsut | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 289 ft / 88 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 70°44′03″N052°41′46″W / 70.73417°N 52.69611°W | ||||||||||
Website | Qaarsut Lufthavne | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Statistics (2012) | |||||||||||
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Qaarsut Airport (Greenlandic : Mittarfik Qaarsut) ( IATA : JQA, ICAO : BGUQ) is an airport in Qaarsut, a settlement on the Nuussuaq Peninsula in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is a primary airport with a gravel runway, capable of serving STOL aircraft of Air Greenland in all seasons. [2] There is a small cafeteria in the tiny arrivals/departures hall. It is connected by a 4 km (2.5 mi) gravel road to Qaarsut and is 13.5 nautical miles (25.0 km; 15.5 mi) northwest of Uummannaq. [1]
Qaarsut airport was inaugurated on 29 September 1999, [3] with the purpose of serving the much larger neighboring town of Uummannaq, 13.5 NM (25.0 km; 15.5 mi) southeast [1] of the airport, located on an island of the same name in the south-central part of Uummannaq Fjord. The island−merely 23 km (14 mi) away in a direct line across Sarqarput Strait−is too small and rocky to host an airport of sufficient size to accommodate fixed-wing aircraft of Air Greenland.
The airport thus functions as a mini-hub for Uummannaq, [4] with the terminal building labelled 'Uummannaq', regardless of its actual location, registration, documentation, and existing booking systems.
The decision to build the airport in Qaarsut was intended to solve the bottleneck on the Ilulissat-Uummannaq route (164 km), until then operated by Air Greenland with Sikorsky S-61N helicopters. Acquired in 1965, they are the oldest machines in the fleet of the airline, [5] still in operation year-round in southern Greenland and during wintertime in the Disko Bay area south of Qaarsut.
The bottleneck problem is considered unsolved, since passengers must still be shuttled between the airport and Uummannaq Heliport. The primary function of the airport as a local hub has unintended consequences for communities of northern Greenland. All flights to Qaanaaq Airport include a stopover in Upernavik Airport. In order to avoid an overnight layover in Upernavik, all Qaanaaq-bound passengers must travel via Qaarsut. [6] Flights on the Ilulissat-Qaarsut route are often sold out, which given a single weekly flight to Qaanaaq leaves passengers unable to travel to or from the northern communities, resulting in resentment. [7] [8] As of 2017, it is possible to travel Ilulissat–Qaanaaq or opposite within a day with only one plane change in Upernavik without touching Qaarsut.
Proposals to close the airport [9] have to date been rejected. [10] Sunk costs, tourism potential for northwestern and northern Greenland, and the 2010 reinvigoration of the mining activities in Maamorilik northeast of Ukkusissat, as well as on Appat Island in the future [11] −are the primary reasons for keeping the airport open. [10]
Airlines | Destinations |
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Air Greenland | Ilulissat, Uummannaq [6] |
Upernavik is a small town in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, located on a small island of the same name. With 1,064 inhabitants as of 2024, it is the twelfth-largest town in Greenland. It contains the Upernavik Museum.
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Uummannaq Island is a small island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Located in the south-central part of the Uummannaq Fjord, it is home to the most prominent mountain on the Arctic coast of western Greenland and to Uummannaq, the largest town north of Ilulissat.
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Qaanaaq Airport is an airport located 1.9 NM northwest of Qaanaaq, a settlement in the Avannaata municipality in northern Greenland. It was established in 1991 to serve Qaanaaq and neighboring communities because Thule Air Base in Pituffik is not open for regular passenger traffic. It is the only civilian airport north of Upernavik and is a lifeline for northern Greenland. Fresh food and other consumer products are transported by air.
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Ilulissat Airport ; is a minor international airport serving Ilulissat, Greenland, the entire Disko Bay Region, the North and West Greenland. It is the 59th largest airport in the Nordic countries with 83,000 passengers in 2012 and is the second airport built in Greenland for civilian travel partially funded by the EU Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund. It is the third-busiest airport in Greenland, and one of the busiest for international travel in Greenland.
Upernavik Airport is an airport located 0.5 NM northeast of Upernavik, a town in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, capable of serving STOL aircraft. It is used as a transfer airport for passenger/cargo traffic to northern Greenland, and serves as a local helicopter hub of Air Greenland with flights to settlements in the Upernavik Archipelago.
Uummannaq Heliport is a heliport in Uummannaq, a town located on Uummannaq Island in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. There are no facilities in the heliport.
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Appat Island is an uninhabited island in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. At 211 km2 (81.5 sq mi), it is one of the larger islands in the Uummannaq Fjord system, located in its north-central part. It is the site of the former settlements of Ritenbenck and Qaqortuatsiaq.
Upernavik Archipelago is a vast coastal archipelago in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, off the shores of northeastern Baffin Bay. The archipelago extends from the northwestern coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula in the south at approximately 71°50′N56°00′W to the southern end of Melville Bay in the north at approximately 74°50′N57°30′W.
Torsukattak Strait is a strait in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland.
Maamorilik is a mining site in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. Holding resources of zinc, iron, lead, and silver, the mine is 5 km (3.1 mi) long, with its entry level situated 750 m (2,460 ft) above the sea level.
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Avannaata is a municipality of Greenland created on 1 January 2018 from the bulk of the former Qaasuitsup municipality. It encompasses an area of 522,700 km2 and has 10,726 inhabitants.