The frigid waters separating Greenland from the far north of Canada were once prowled by Norse longships. From summer 2024 it will be possible to cross them again for the first time since 2016, albeit. albeit in a more comfortable manner on board an Air Greenland turboprop.
On October 16, 2023, Air Greenland announced the launch of a new seasonal service between Nuuk (GOH), the capital of this Danish autonomous territory, and Iqaluit (YFB), the capital of Nunavut, Canada’s northernmost territory.
The route was previously operated by Air Greenland between 2012 and 2015, but the two Arctic territories have lacked a direct air connection since then.
From Iqaluit Airport passengers will be able to connect with flights to Ottawa (YOW), thanks to an agreement between Air Greenland and Canadian North, a carrier that operates an extensive network in Nunavut and links the territory to the Canadian capital, more than 2,000 km to the south, as well as other major cities such as Montréal, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.
This weekly service, with flights departing Nuuk every Wednesday at 15:30 between the months of June and October, will be operated by a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 turboprop aircraft with 37 seats in a single-class cabin. The flight time will be approximately two hours
Iqaluit Airport was built during the Second World War on a strategic location on the northeastern tip of Canada and right next to the transatlantic polar route. In successive decades, and after becoming a civilian airport, it has often been used as a diversion airport in case of emergencies and also for extreme cold weather testing new aircraft.
With the opening of this new route, it will be possible to fly between mainland Canada and Europe on an Arctic routing, by way of Iqaluit, Nuuk (Greenland) and then on to Denmark either via Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ) or Keflavik (KEF), Iceland.
