Kangerlussuaq Airport

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Kangerlussuaq Airport (SFJ)
Mittarfik Kangerlussuaq
Kangerlussuaq Lufthavn
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IATA: SFJICAO: BGSF
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Mittarfeqarfiit
Serves Kangerlussuaq, Greenland
Location Kangerlussuaq, Qeqqata, Greenland
Hub for <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Elevation AMSL 165 ft / 50 m
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Website www.mit.gl
Map
BGSF/SFJ is located in Greenland
BGSF/SFJ
BGSF/SFJ
Location in Greenland
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 2,810 9,219 Asphalt
Statistics (2012)
Passengers 133,381
Aircraft movements 4,826
Source: Danish AIS[1]
Statistics from airport.[2]

Kangerlussuaq Airport (Greenlandic: Mittarfik Kangerlussuaq, Danish: Søndre Strømfjord Lufthavn) (IATA: SFJICAO: BGSF) is an airport in Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Alongside Narsarsuaq Airport, it is one of only two civilian airports in Greenland large enough to handle large airliners. It is located away from the coast and hence less prone to fog and wind in comparison with other airports in Greenland. Kangerlussuaq Airport is the international hub for Air Greenland. The Kangerlussuaq area has very few inhabitants, around 500, so few passengers have their origin or destination here. Most passengers change planes.

History

The first airport was built here during the US occupation in 1941 under the name of Bluie West-8, later renamed Sondrestromfjord Air Base and Sondrestrom Air Base.

In the 1950s, transatlantic civilian flights began using the air base for refuelling. This use fell off in the 1960s as airliners gained greater range, but the base became the hub of Greenland air traffic.

The airport was handed over to civilian Greenlandic control in 1992.

Future

At a late 2011 Air Greenland meeting, plans to move the main Greenland intercontinental air hub away from Kangerlussuaq were agreed upon. According to the 2011 plan three 1,199-meter airstrips will be built; a new airport at Qaqortoq, and extensions at Nuuk, and Ilulissat. New airports will probably also be built at Tasiilaq and Ittoqqortoormiit later. These planned airstrips will be too short to host intercontinental flights, and a new 1,799-meter airstrip must be built before Kangerlussuaq can be closed. The main candidates for a new intercontinental airport are presently Nuuk and Qaqortoq. Alongside Kangerlussuaq, the airports at Narsarsuaq and Kulusuk (if Tasiilaq is built) will also be closed.[3] Generally, a number of the airstrips have been built by the US military at locations deliberately away from major settlements, partly due to the Danish policy to downplay the presence of the US military in Greenland.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations
Air Iceland Seasonal: Ilulissat,[4] Reykjavík-Domestic (ends 2 June 2016),[5] Reykjavík-Keflavík (begins 3 June 2016)[6]
Air Greenland Aasiaat, Ilulissat, Maniitsoq, Narsarsuaq, Nerlerit Inaat, Nuuk, Sisimiut,
Copenhagen, Reykjavík-Domestic
Air Greenland
operated by Jet Time
Seasonal: Copenhagen
Air Greenland
operated by Danish Air Transport
Seasonal: Copenhagen
Scandinavian Airlines Charter: Copenhagen[7]

Access to several research camps on the Greenland ice sheet, including the Danish field camp North GRIP and the American Summit Camp, is handled through Kangerlussuaq via the 109th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard. There are also a few tourist charter flights between Germany and Kangerlussuaq every summer, in connection with cruise ship arrivals to the Kangerlussuaq seaport. Those flights have typically been operated by Air Greenland or airlines from Germany.[8]

SAS operated flights to Greenland until March 2003, the route re-opened the spring 2007 until January 2009. The Boeing 767-383ER at Kangerlussuaq Airport (2001)
In May 1998 Greenlandair took the affair into its own hands to compete with its parent company SAS with their first jetliner Boeing 757–236
First Air Boeing 727-233/Adv(F) C-GXFA at Kangerlussuaq Airport
Greenlandair Beech 200 Super King Air OY-NUK taxiing at Kangerlussuaq Airport
Air Alpha Cessna 208B Grand Caravan OY-TPG at Kangerlussuaq Airport. Hired by Tele Post Greenland for mail and parcel distribution
Air Greenland Boeing 757–236 at Kangerlussuaq
Terminal at Kangerlussuaq Airport with two Dash-7s of Air Greenland in front

Facilities

The terminal is open for 24 hours during summer. Hotel Kangerlussuaq, with a 70-room capacity and a restaurant, is located within the terminal building of the airport, providing accommodation for transferring passengers. Other amenities include a night-club and a self-service bar during daytime. Several tourism outfitters share an office in the terminal, alongside the Tourist Office.

Accidents and Incidents

  • In 1961, a DHC-3 Otter, operated by Greenlandair, crashed at emergency landing in terrain near Kangerlussuaq, because of a fire on board. One crew member was killed. There were 2 crew and 4 passengers on board.[9]
  • In 1968, three US T-33 fighters crashed into a nearby mountain. All on board (one per plane) survived by parachute.
  • In 1976, a US air force C-141A cargo plane crashed. Killing 23 of 27 passengers and crew on board.[10]

See also

References

  1. BGSF – Kangerlussuaq Airport (PDF). Greenlandic Aeronautical Information Publication from Statens Luftfartsvæsen (CAA-DK).
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  6. http://airlineroute.net/2015/10/13/ny-sfjuak-s16/
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External links