Airports play a major role in helping to boost economic activity in a country, supporting jobs and generating substantial GDP. The figures speak for themselves with air transport globally contributing around £664 billion annually to the world GDP. In Europe, airports and aviation related industries employ almost 12 million people and add a whopping £571 billion to GDP – about 4.1% of the continent’s economy.
So it should come as no surprise to learn that one European island state is busy investing millions of pounds in revamping its air transport infrastructure. Greenland has embarked on a massively ambitious airport construction programme that officials hope will help transform its economy.
The project will deliver three airports – one refurbished and two completely new ones – with an estimated total cost of £694 million.
Nuuk international airport is the first to be operational, having received a £226 million makeover.
The upgraded airport was officially opened in November 2024, and boasts a 2,200 metre runway that can accommodate large aircraft.
The airport serves as a major hub for international flights, connecting Greenland with Copenhagen in Denmark and Reykjavik in Iceland.
It is hoped the capital’s refurbished airport will boost tourism, with passenger numbers expected to double to over 100,000 people.
The airport alone is estimated to bring in roughly £151,000 per flight to the local economy.
Two more airports will be built in Ilulissat and Qaqortoq, the former expected to cost £373 million and the latter £101 million.
Both are slated to be open in 2026 and will also feature 2,200 metre runways, as well as instrument landing systems for all-weather operations.
The building of the airports has posed significant technical challenges to construction teams, who have had to deal with digging into the tundra – this includes a layer of permafrost which can be as hard as concrete.
Engineers have employed a technique usually reserved for tunnelling, known as drill and blast.
In total six million cubic metres of rock had to be blown away from the surface, with there debris broken up into smaller pieces and used as the foundations for the new runways and buildings.