Aviation Specials – May 2018

When it comes to airports, they don’t

come much more extreme than Ilulissat

in Greenland. Robbie Shaw found it to

be thriving, despite having only a 2,772ft

(845m) runway built on some very

inhospitable terrain.

MIND THE ICE BERGS

next to the Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn

Glacier), 35 miles (56km) of the most active

ice outside of Antarctica, which moves

about 100ft (30m) a day and regularly

produces large icebergs. It is thought

that the berg that sank RMS Titanic might

have originated locally, traversing Disko

Bay before moving down the west coast

of Greenland into the Atlantic Ocean.

The ecology of the area is now of such

importance that it has been designated a

UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ilulissat was populated some 4,000

years ago, and for those who have not

experienced it themselves it can be

diffi cult to imagine what those fi rst

se lers must have thought as they took in

the magical sight of a bay full of icebergs.

The Arctic explorer Knud Rasmussen –

known as ‘the father of Eskimology’ and

the fi rst European to cross the Northwest

Passage on a dog sled – was born locally

in 1879, and grew up in the town.

The country faces some unique

transportation challenges, as its

population is distributed across a

landmass that stretches the equivalent

of the distance between Scotland and

the south of Spain. Its inhabitants live

in 18 towns and villages and about 60

se lements, but there are no cross-

country roads due to the diffi cult terrain,

the weather and the vast distances

involved. Travelling by sea is also not

an option in winter, making reliable air

services essential.

Air transport

Ilulissat was served by a heliport for many

years, but an increase in traffi c dictated an

airfi eld be built. It was the second airport

in Greenland to open to civilian travel,

ILULISSAT

Extreme Airports of the World // 67

ABOVE: An

Air Greenland

Bombardier

Dash 8-200 lands

on the 2,772

(845m) airstrip.

(All photos

author)

LEFT: The ice

fi eld towers over

the town’s small

buildings. It is

believed that

RMS Titanic

was sunk by an

iceberg that

originated in

the area.

66-71_Ilulissat.indd 67 11/05/2018 11:45