Qaarsut Airport

Last updated
Qaarsut Airport

Mittarfik Qaarsut

Uummannaq/Qaarsut Airport
Qaarsut-airport-terminal-front.jpg
Summary
Airport typePublic
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 / 70.73417; -52.69611 Coordinates: 70°44′03″N052°41′46″W / 70.73417°N 52.69611°W / 70.73417; -52.69611
Website Qaarsut Lufthavne
Map
Greenland edcp location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
BGUQ
Location in Greenland
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
mft
15/339002,953Gravel
Statistics (2012)
Passengers7,105
Source: Danish AIS [1]

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]

Contents

Overview

Air Greenland passengers transfer between Bell 212 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in Qaarsut Qaarsut-airport-air-greenland-bell212-dash7.jpg
Air Greenland passengers transfer between Bell 212 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in Qaarsut
Check-in desk of Qaarsut Airport Check-in desk of Qaarsut Airport.jpg
Check-in desk of Qaarsut Airport

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 and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Air Greenland Ilulissat, Uummannaq [6]

Related Research Articles

Upernavik Place in Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark

Upernavik is a small town in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, located on a small island of the same name. With 1,092 inhabitants as of 2020, it is the twelfth-largest town in Greenland. It contains the Upernavik Museum.

Air Greenland Flag carrier airline of Greenland

Air Greenland A/S, also known as Greenlandair, is the flag carrier airline of Greenland, owned by the Greenlandic Government. It operates a fleet of 32 aircraft, including 1 airliner used for transatlantic and charter flights, 8 fixed-wing aircraft primarily serving the domestic network, and 18 helicopters feeding passengers from the smaller communities into the domestic airport network. Flights to heliports in the remote settlements are operated on contract with the government of Greenland.

Uummannaq Island Small island in Avannaata municipality, Greenland

Uummannaq Island is a small (12 km2) 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.

Nuuk Airport

Nuuk Airport (Greenlandic: Mittarfik Nuuk; Danish: Godthåb Lufthavn; is an airport serving Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The airport is a technical base and focus city for Air Greenland, the flag carrier airline of Greenland, linking the capital with several towns in western and south-western part of the country, including the airline hub at Kangerlussuaq Airport. With connections to Iceland, Nuuk Airport is also one of six international airports in Greenland but serves only destinations within Greenland and Iceland. International connections are made with flights to either Keflavík International Airport in Iceland or Kangerlussuaq Airport.

Kangerlussuaq Airport

Kangerlussuaq Airport is an airport in Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Alongside Narsarsuaq Airport, it is one of only two civilian airports in Greenland large enough to handle large airliners. It is located away from the coast and hence less prone to fog and wind in comparison with other airports in Greenland. Kangerlussuaq Airport is the international hub for Air Greenland. The Kangerlussuaq area has very few inhabitants, so few passengers have their origin or destination here; most passengers change planes.

Qaanaaq Airport

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.

Sisimiut Airport

Sisimiut Airport is an airport located 2.2 NM northwest of Sisimiut, a town in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. The airport has a single runway designated 13/31 which measures 799 by 30 m, built on the northern shore of Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay.

Qaasuitsup

Qaasuitsup was a municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2017. As of January 2013 its population was 17,498. The administrative centre of the municipality was in Ilulissat.

Ilulissat Airport

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 by far one of the busiest for international travel in Greenland.

Upernavik Airport

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.

Qaqortoq Heliport

Qaqortoq Heliport is a heliport in the southern part of Qaqortoq, a town in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The distance to Narsarsuaq Airport, the only airport with flights from Qaqortoq, is 59 kilometres (37 mi).

Appat Island

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 Coastal archipelago in Greenland

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

Torsukattak Strait is a strait in Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland.

Disko Line A/S is a passenger and freight ferry line in western Greenland. It was founded in 2004 as a small freight company.

Avannaata Municipality of Greenland

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Greenland AIP for BGUQ – Uummannaq/Qaarsut Airport from Naviair
  2. ↑ Air Greenland destination overview Archived March 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine , with a photograph of the runway
  3. ↑ explorenorth.com Archived October 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "greenland-guide.gl". Archived from the original on 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  5. ↑ Air Greenland, 50th anniversary website (in Danish)
  6. 1 2 "Booking system". Air Greenland. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Træt af trafikproblemer". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 3 July 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  8. ↑ "Travel problems frustrating isolated town". Sermitsiaq . 3 July 2008. Archived from the original on August 4, 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  9. ↑ "Luk lufthavne i Qaanaaq og Qaarsut". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 20 August 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  10. 1 2 "Lufthavne bliver ikke lukket". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). 17 October 2007. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  11. ↑ kanukoka.gl Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
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