Direct flights from Nuuk to Iqaluit are not allowed to take off for another two weeks. Greenland Airports, which operates the Nuuk airport, was forced to suspend all international flights out of the capital last week when its security authorization was revoked following an inspection by the Danish Transport Authority. That affects the weekly flight out of Nuuk to Iqaluit, as well as to Keflavik, Iceland.
Flights into Nuuk, as well as domestic flights, aren't affected. In a statement to CBC, Greenland Airports spokesperson Mikkel Bjarnø Lund said the suspension was due to security concerns, like unlocked doors that could allow unauthorized access into restricted areas at the airport. Greenland Airports had originally expected the issue to be resolved by Tuesday.
It's not yet clear why it'll take another two weeks. Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, with her youngest daughter, was supposed to have flown home to Iqaluit last week from Nuuk, on the day the suspension was announced. She decided to stay in Nuuk for another week, to avoid taking a lengthy four-day detour to five other destinations in Denmark and Canada en route to Iqaluit.
"It's very hot [in those destinations] and we only have clothing for an Arctic summer. We decided it was out of the question," she said. "As it turns out, I know a number of people I would have travelled with caught COVID, and are laid up in Iqaluit now.
" An Air Greenland flight in Iqaluit on June 26. (Matisse Harvey/Radio-Canada ) While she took the opportunity to spend more time with family in Greenland, she found it amusing to hear about the security reasons behind the disruptions. "They didn't explain any of that to us.
.. that's something that should've been sorted out before they made this grand and beautiful plan to unite two Inuit nations together," she said, referring to the resumption of direct, scheduled flights between the two capitals in June.
The original four-day detour for affected passengers last week has now changed. There is a new temporary solution to fly from Nuuk via Kangerlussuaq or Kulusuk, Greenland, before arriving in Iqaluit and Iceland. "This solution entails additional costs in the form of longer flight time and thus additional fuel supply and working hours for crews and operations staff," Air Greenland's chief executive Jacob Nitter Sørensen said.
It'll add a little over an hour in travel time for passengers to Iqaluit, and will depart slightly earlier in the day. The extra costs of that will be split between the airline and Greenland Airports. Greenland Airports is currently building a new airport terminal in Nuuk.
It's expected to be completed this fall..
