Going Green(land)
The possibility of seeing the Northern Lights is one of the main reasons for considering a winter vacation in the far north. This magical phenomenon lights up the skies quite frequently in places like Iceland and Greenland. Iceland has become a prime destination for tourists, with multiple daily flights to Reykjavik from several US cities. By contrast, Greenland is much less accessible. That is about to change.
Historically, access to Greenland has been mainly via cruise ships. Few flights have been available, and these have been into out of the way places (even for Greenland) such as the former US Air Force base now called Kangerlussuaq Airport. On November 28, 2024, flight access to Greenland took a big step forward when a new international airport was opened in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, which accounts for over one-third of Greenland’s population of about 60,000. This airport comes with a 7,217-foot runway that will allow larger planes to land. The airport expects to be able to handle 800 passengers per hour. For comparison purposes, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta handles an average of 12,000 passengers per hour!
Currently, only two airlines fly in and out of Greenland regularly – Icelandair and Air Greenland. If your departure point is mainland Europe, the quickest way to get to Greenland is from Copenhagen. If you are flying from the US, UK, and Canada, the easiest way is to connect through Iceland. Starting in June, however, United Airlines is expected to join the party by offering nonstop seasonal flights from Newark, NJ. This flight will take just over four hours. Funded by a significant loan from Denmark, Greenland plans to open two additional airports by 2026, effectively connecting the north and south parts of the world’s largest island (excluding the ‘island continent’ of Australia).
The opening of the new Nuuk airport marks a significant milestone in opening Greenland’s doors to tourism. On average, 130,000 brave visitors come to Greenland every year seeking out the remote Arctic experience. With more flights being offered, the expectation is that tourism will grow. That matters to Greenland’s economy, given that each plane of tourists is estimated to add $200,000 of revenue, according to CNN. The country has only 56 miles of paved roads, so in-country traveling must be done via plane or boat for locals and tourists.
The Visit Greenland website expresses excitement about making the island more accessible. The experiences available extend well beyond observing the Northern Lights to dog-sledding, whale watching, and iceberg and glacier sightseeing. Ilulissat Glacier is said to have ‘calved’ the iceberg that sank the Titanic and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 because of its beauty and importance in developing our understanding of climate change.
Whether you are into cold weather experiences or not, it is exhilarating to see how places we thought of as remote and inaccessible are becoming part of our adventure travel options. Wheels up!
Nirvanna Silva