Extreme Airports of the World // 71project. The work will be challenging and
expensive due to the mountainous terrain,
but the company has a track record of
working on airport projects. It claims it
has extensive expertise in ‘rock science’,
and has pointed out that the permafrost
is starting to melt due to global warming,
so special allowances will have to be made
for work on ground that is extremely hard
in winter, but very soft in the summer.
Plans call for a new runway just to the
north of the current airstrip. A new apron
and terminal will also be built to the south,
linked to the existing facilities by another
taxiway. The project will involve blasting of
194m cubic ft (5.5m m^2 ) of rock, and a fi ll
of 272m cubic ft (7.7m^2 ) of crushed stone.
Other material will be used to build a 33ft
(10m) coastal wall to protect the airfi eld
from the large waves that can be generated
by the movement of 790ft (240m) high
icebergs in the adjacent Disko Bay.
A consortium, comprising MT Højgaard
Group (for construction), Siemens
(technology) and Unipension (fi nance),
has been set up to oversee the work
and the fi nished airport will be run by
Kalaallit Airports, which was formed by
the government on July 1, 2016. Bids for
some of the main components of the
project will be submi ed in August, and
construction work is likely to take place
between 2019 and 2022.Visiting
Greenland has some of the world’s most
stunning natural scenery. Three-quarters
of it is covered by the only permanent ice
sheet outside of the arctic regions, but its
mountains, glaciers and fjords are also
spectacular. Average temperatures in the
winter fall between -9 and -16.6oC (15.8 –
2.1oF), while in summer variations between
11.4 and 4.4oC (52.5-39.9oF) are likely. So avisit between the la er part of May and late
July, when the sun never sets, is probably for
the best. Due to Ilulissat being a bit off the
beaten track, air fares and accommodation
can be expensive, but making the region
accessible to more visitors is unlikely to
reduce these costs. So whether an infl ux of
tourists will change things much remains
to be seen, but for now a trip to the north
comes highly recommended.ILULISSAT
LEFT: Plans
for a runway
long enough to
accommodate
Air Greenland’s
Airbus A330 and a
new terminal have
been produced.
(Kalaallit Airports)
FAR LEFT: Air
Greenland
Bombardier
Dash 8-Q202
OY-GRJ taxies for
departure.
FAR LEFT:
Vulcanair P-68
Observer OY-SUR
is available for
sightseeing fl ights.LEFT: Air Iceland’s
Dash 8 fl ights from
Reykjavík are the
only services that
originate outside
of Greenland.
BELOW: Eight
nine-seat Bell 212s,
including OY-HGY,
have taken over
local services from
the venerable S-61s.FAR LEFT: Air
Greenland bases
a Beechcra King
Air at Ilulissat. It is
usually on standby
to airli urgent
medical cases to
the capital.66-71_Ilulissat.indd 71 11/05/2018 11:45