Aviation Specials – May 2018

M

any people would struggle

to name any se lement in

Greenland, let alone list more

than one. Ilulissat, formerly known as

Jakobshavn, is actually the third-largest

community in the country after the capital

Nuuk, and Sisimiut. It also has the third

busiest airport in Greenland, and the 59th

most used in the Nordic region.

Greenland – Kalaallit Nunaat in the local

Greenlandic language – was a Danish

dependency (where it is still known as

Grønland) until 1979, when it was granted

home rule and, in 2008, Greenlanders

voted for self-government. It still gets

considerable sums of money from

Denmark, but is now an autonomous

constituent country with its own fl ag. It

is the second largest island in the world

after Australia, although three-quarters of

it is covered by ice, which can be in excess

of two miles (3km) deep in places. The

2013 census recorded just over 56,000

inhabitants, making Greenland the least

densely populated country in the world.

Ilulissat is midway up the west coast on

the side of the huge Disko Bay, 155 miles

(250km) north of the Arctic Circle. It is also

MIND THE ICE BERGS

ILULISSAT

66 // Extreme Airports of the World

66-71_Ilulissat.indd 66 11/05/2018 11:45