Air Greenland made a lot of avgeeks happy when it announced that it will resume its summer seasonal route between Nuuk (GOH), the capital of Greenland, and Iqaluit (YFB), the capital of Nunavut, Canada, beginning on June 26, 2024.
Air Greenland’s Nuuk-Iqaluit route
The Nuuk-Iqaluit route will be operated by the trusty Dash 8 with 37 seats, offering a once-weekly departure every Wednesday from June 26 to October 23, 2024.
This is exciting news for those of us interested in the far north (and its aviation) as well as for those in North America looking for more ways to reach Greenland. For years there has been little to no connection between Canada and Greenland despite their physical and cultural proximity, meaning a Canadian traveller would have to first fly to Copenhagen (CPH) or Keflavik (KEF) in order to reach the world’s largest island, adding hours to any journey.
Incredible flying
We’ve been to Greenland twice now, and we’ve made a series of videos about flying there. For one of the most popular examples, see the below video about flying from Kangerlussuaq to Aasiaat and Ilullisat on the Dash 8.
Nunavut and Greenland cozy up
The new Iqaluit route is one result of a cooperation agreement signed in 2022 between Greenland and Nunavut with the goal of improving “co-operation in the areas of culture, education, fisheries and green energy and, last but not least, to pave the way for better mobility.”
Air Greenland did fly this route before, between 2012 and 2014, but suspended it due to low demand and high costs. Now, Air Greenland clearly sees opportunity in the route once again, no doubt also fitting into a larger strategy to increase cooperation between Greenland and other parts of the world beyond the traditional gateway of Copenhagen.
New Greenland airports on the way
This all comes ahead of the opening of new runways and terminals at Nuuk and Ilulissat, which will open up the possibility of flying bigger jets directly to Greenland’s two most important destinations, instead of having to land at Kangerlussuaq (SFJ) and then shift passengers onto connecting Dash 8 flights as it does now. For now the opening of the new runway at Nuuk is still scheduled for late 2024.
Interline agreements improve connections
Importantly Air Greenland has also partnered up with Canadian North, which has extensive service out of Iqaluit, to offer a same-day connection to Ottawa (YOW), the capital of Canada. This means that travellers can book a through ticket between Nuuk and Ottawa on both airlines’ websites.
And looking eastward, Air Greenland has also entered into interline agreements with SAS and Icelandair. That means customers can now book through tickets involving more than one carrier on all three airline websites.
A new way to get from North America to Europe?
Interestingly, Air Greenland pointed out in a press release this month that its new timetables will “provide better travel options between Europe and North America.” When we’ve spoken to Air Greenland leadership in the past they’ve always made it clear that they don’t intend to ever become a serious hub for transatlantic traffic even after the new airports open. That’s in no small part due to weather. Nuuk regularly sees the kind of difficult weather that would potentially snarl traffic for days even at the most advanced hub airport.
However it’s clear Air Greenland would prefer to increase options for seamless travel. That potentially includes those who might want to make Iqaluit and Greenland part of a longer trip across the Atlantic. It’s exciting to know that a traveller could now potentially visit Nunavut, Greenland and Iceland before traveling onward to continental Europe, all on one ticket.
With any luck this will mark the beginning of expanded flight links and cooperation across Arctic communities – and better connections between them and the rest of the world. From our perspective, the future of Greenlandic aviation looks very bright.
Iqaluit flights are bookable now at airgreenland.com. You’ll probably see us on the inaugural!
