It is the second of three airport openings to reach completion, with the main hub at Nuuk opening in 2024 and the new airfield for tourist-magnet Ilulissat due this autumn. Aside from benefiting locals, the hope is that this addition can now become an appealing new gateway for tourists heading to the less-visited southern part of the country. One of the airline’s classic red Dash 8’s operated the inaugural flight from Nuuk, most of the seats filled by a who’s who of Greenlandic politics, tourism and aviation, including the current prime minister and two of his predecessors.

We touched down about an hour and a half later in the colourful town of 3,000 inhabitants. Greenland flags were handed out and speeches were given (in both Greenlandic and Danish) by Captain René and First Officer Peter, the latter of whom grew up in Qaqortoq. Runway success: Qaqortoq’s new airport opens (Image: Courtesy of Greenland Airports) After a low flyby of the town, the first-ever commercial landing on the runway cut from rocky terrain was greeted by locals perched on hillsides.

This project has been in the works for more than a decade and the excitement was palpable. The new terminal is modelled after Nuuk, with big windows and high-angled ceilings in light wood. For the moment there is no café and the vending machines are empty, so do bring snacks.

In this corner of the world where few roads connect communities, air travel is crucial. As Greenland seeks to grow its economy, being able to attract more tourists is a significant part of its strategy. Every incoming narrow-body flight from the US brings about $200,000 (€172,000) in local spending.

The new hub at Nuuk has seen its fair share of teething issues since opening. “Baby steps,” said one Air Greenland pilot of the progress. One major factor isn’t going away: the weather.

Nuuk’s coastal location means highly changeable weather and frequent storms, in comparison to the old inland gateway for Air Greenland’s sole wide-body jet at Kangerlussuaq, which had relatively stable conditions. Diversions have been closely watched. When a jet can’t land at Nuuk, it will often head back to Reykjavík or Copenhagen.

The knock-on effects and disruption are painful, though Flightradar24 data shows that since December 2024, the A330neo has made 337 flights to Nuuk and diverted 11 times, or about 3 per cent of the time. Not insignificant but hardly a weekly occurrence either. Pilots might have a tougher day at the office than before but it is by no means unsafe.

And now larger cargo can arrive in Nuuk by air – not possible in the days when everything had to be transferred to a small prop plane. There have also been some high-profile issues, such as the brief removal of Nuuk’s security certification by Danish authorities and a much-talked-about multi-hour delay due to security staff being out hunting. There have been problems sourcing de-icing fluid and other key materials, and delays still happen due to staff shortages.

But these are the realities of Greenland, where different rules apply, availability of goods is never guaranteed and sticking to strict schedules is not always possible. And yet, Greenland Airports, the company tasked with building, developing and operating the new terminals, is working hard to improve things. “Nuuk being the first airport that we opened has definitely been a very, very steep learning curve,” says Jens Lauridsen, the CEO of Greenland Airports.

“If we had to open it again, we would do things differently. Last summer was not the brightest of moments in Greenland’s aviation history but we have definitely learnt a lot and trained all winter to make sure that things should be better next summer. We’re getting there.” After about an hour of speeches and celebrations at the new airport, people began returning to town for a celebratory kaffemik (coffee and cakes for all) at the local community centre.

At a moment when Greenland is in the public eye more than ever, the weathering of snowstorms and blowhard politicians is becoming second nature. Perhaps it’s worth a visit to see for yourself. Gabriel Leigh is Monocle’s transport correspondent. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.Further reading? – If Greenland wants more visitors, it must fix its airports– If Trump’s threats have made anything clear, it’s that Danes don’t care about Greenland The pos