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Qaqortoq Airport Mittarfik Qaqortoq | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Greenland Airport Authority | ||||||||||
| Serves | Qaqortoq, Greenland | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 60°45′57″N 046°03′54″W / 60.76583°N 46.06500°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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Qaqortoq Airport is a facility which under construction to serve fixed-wing services in southern Greenland. The wider network of air traffic in southern Greenland has been served by the former U.S. military base, Narsarsuaq Airport, which is located approximately 60 km from the largest town in southern Greenland, Qaqortoq. As of April 2025, the airport is under construction and is due to be completed in late 2026 and will replace, in operation, Qaqortoq heliport and Narsarsuaq Airport.[1][2]
The airport site is at 60°45′51″N 46°3′57″W / 60.76417°N 46.06583°W, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Qaqortoq, having a decided runway length of 1,500 metres (4,921 ft).[3] This length is considered the minimum requirement for supporting future economic development, especially within the tourism sector, allowing propeller aircraft of near 100 seats (such as DHC-8-Q400) to fly all seats used domestically and to Iceland.[4] There is room for an extension of up to 1,800 metres (5,906 ft), [citation needed] which would allow for larger jet aircraft to use the airport. The access road to the airport site was completed as a gravel road in 2017, though it will eventually be an asphalt road when the airport is finally completed. The first rock blastings at the airport site were conducted at a ceremony during early November 2016.[1]
As of October 2024, the new airport is under construction and is due to be completed in late 2026.[1][2] A large setback occured in April 2020 when the procurement of the airport construction was halted because all offers were well above the project budget.[5] A contract with a construction company from Canada was finally signed in February 2022.[6][7]
Following the completion of this airport, Narsarsuaq Airport is planned to be closed and downgraded to a heliport.[8] Exact plans for the heliport meanwhile remain ambiguous. The airport will replace the current Qaqortoq heliport as well as fixed-wing flights from Narsarsuaq Airport.[9]