The Danish Transport Authority has issued a directive to Greenland Airports introducing restrictions in the airspace around Nuuk Airport. These restrictions took effect immediately from 23 September at 18:00 and aim to enhance flight safety.

Air Greenland fully understands that the Transport Authority, as the responsible authority, has deemed regulation necessary at this time, as safety is the company’s highest priority. However, the restrictions have far-reaching consequences—not only for Air Greenland and its customers, but also for the cohesion of Greenland’s infrastructure. It is therefore urgent to clarify how these restrictions affect Air Greenland’s flight operations.

Air Greenland’s route network is structured as a hub-and-spoke system, where most flights depart from and return to the central hub in Nuuk. This enables a wide range of same-day connections between towns, settlements, and international destinations.

In a country like ours, with many destinations and few travelers, this system is crucial for maintaining a coherent infrastructure.

Based on this structure, Air Greenland has allocated aircraft, crews, and ground staff, and has applied for and been granted slot times at Nuuk Airport. Minimizing travel time has always been a key priority for Air Greenland, as flight time is a critical factor for customers.

Until the restrictions were introduced, this system allowed for relatively many arrivals and departures at the same time in Nuuk Airport—something that is no longer possible.

A new model for operations at Nuuk Airport has now been introduced, called “2-4-4,” which defines how many flight operations can be conducted within a 60-minute window. This means that in any given hour, the following maximums apply:

• 2 arrivals
• 4 departures
• No more than 4 operations in total

Examples of combinations within 60 minutes include:

• 2 arrivals + 2 departures = 4 operations
• 1 arrival + 3 departures = 4 operations
• 0 arrivals + 4 departures = 4 operations

Additionally, there must be at least 5 minutes between each operation and a minimum of 20 minutes between two arrivals.

Helicopter operations are also restricted: only one local helicopter operation may be conducted at a time within the zone around Nuuk Airport (20 nautical miles).

SAR and ambulance flights are exempt from these rules.

These new restrictions primarily affect domestic routes. Previously, our Dash-8 aircraft could depart early from their home bases, arrive collectively in Nuuk, and create coordinated connections to transatlantic flights and regional destinations. The new restrictions will severely limit this traffic structure. Destinations far from Nuuk will be especially affected.

The puzzle becomes even more complex when delays occur due to weather or other unforeseen events. The past two days of poor weather and irregularities in Nuuk already demonstrate the difficulty of deploying extra flights to accommodate stranded passengers. Many are currently rebooked 4–6 days ahead due to the reduced number of permitted operations in Nuuk.

As Greenland’s national airline and the largest customer of Greenland Airports, these restrictions change key assumptions in Air Greenland’s flight schedule and will result in reduced service for customers and increased production costs.

Air Greenland’s COO, Line Frederiksen, has been in close dialogue with Greenland Airports since the new model was announced.

“It has been very important to assess the immediate impact of the operational cap on Air Greenland’s flight schedule and our service to customers. We now face a massive puzzle to rebuild a schedule that resembles the original,” says Line Frederiksen.

“Before the change, Air Greenland operated up to eight flight operations per hour in connection with transatlantic flights to and from Denmark. Now, only four are allowed. This means that approximately 40% of same-day connections between the coast and Nuuk, where the transatlantic flight lands, can no longer be maintained. In addition, foreign aircraft further limit the number of possible operations.”

Many passengers will now need to plan for overnight stays—either in Nuuk or elsewhere along their journey to or from Greenland.

“We can already confirm a reduction in service, especially on domestic routes, and customers should expect overnight stays depending on where their journey begins and ends. Air Greenland is now issuing schedule changes, and for changes within 14 days of departure, overnight costs will be covered by Air Greenland. Beyond that, it will be the customer’s own responsibility,” she notes.

“In cases of irregularity, such as cancellations due to weather or technical issues, the restrictions will also limit Air Greenland’s ability to deploy additional flights, as scheduled operations already fill Nuuk Airport’s capacity. As a result, affected customers will unfortunately experience longer delays than previously, and Air Greenland will face significantly increased costs due to irregularities, which we are working to address,” says Line Frederiksen.

With the new restrictions, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the flight schedule, and we regret to inform that travel plans will be subject to ongoing changes in the coming months.

Air Greenland and Greenland Airports are working closely together to find other safe flight solutions that can ensure Greenland’s infrastructure is not degraded more than necessary.

“We hope that together with Air Greenland, we can establish another safe flight solution that minimizes the impact on passengers within the next 4–5 weeks,” says Jens Lauridsen, CEO of Greenland Airports.