Next stop: Nuuk!

The newly opened airport is able to accommodate more passengers as a part of the expansion. A separate control tower has been constructed for operational efficiency in addition to the existing 950-meter runway, which has been upgraded to a new 2200-meter runway, allowing larger aircraft sizes.

This means that Nuuk Airport will now facilitate international flights directly from Copenhagen, with plans to open a direct route from Nuuk to New York in 2025. This will improve international connectivity and is also expected to contribute to further positive development in Greenland.

The new and updated airport has decreased the travel time from Copenhagen drastically. Previously, the travel to Nuuk included a stop in Kangerlussuaq, and depending on the weather, this could increase the travel time by several days. 

The upgraded airport will also support smaller planes on domestic flights in Greenland, which will increase the regularity of the airport's departures and arrivals, benefiting the population of Greenland.

Joining forces from east to west

The design task was carried out by COWI with assistance from Greenlandic Masanti A/S. It was a requirement in COWI's consultancy agreements to have a local subcontractor and provide a certain number of hours produced in Greenland. This was motivated by a desire for knowledge transfer to Greenland. As part of this, Gregers Hildebrand, Associate Technical Director at COWI led the design work for Nuuk and Ilulissat airports from a design office established with Masanti in Nuuk during the period from September 2017 to June 2018.

The design was carried out by employees in Nuuk, most COWI offices in Denmark, as well as from offices in Norway, England, India, and Poland. The work done in India in the east and Greenland in the west, enabled us to work around the clock. 

Involved from high to low

COWI has designed airside works including blasting crushing and building approximately 6 million cubic meters of rock material, construction of rock-fill embankments up to 50 meters in height, airside ground lighting, drainage systems, asphalt, and markings.

The project also necessitated the reconfiguration of surrounding roads and utilities to accommodate the increased space requirements executed by Greenlandic sub-contractor Masanti A/S with parking facilities, drainage, street lighting and water and power supply.

COWI remains committed to ensuring support for both Nuuk Airport as well as the two ongoing projects in Ilulissat and Qaqortoq Airports currently under construction.