World War II The airfield at Narsarsuaq was first built by the
United States Department of War (now the
Department of Defense) as an army airbase, its construction beginning in July 1941 and the first aircraft landing in January 1942. During
World War II, the airbase−codenamed
Bluie West One−hosted
squadrons of
PBY Catalina flying boats and
B-25 Mitchell bombers with the assignment to escort allied convoys and track and destroy German
submarines. A military hospital with 250 beds was completed in 1943. Approximately 4,000 people were stationed at the base during the war. It is estimated that, during that time, more than 10,000 aircraft were ferried through the airbase. On 6 July 1942, the supply ship SS
Montrose was wrecked on a cliff in the
Tunulliarfik Fjord southwest of the airbase. The first aircraft from the
Danish Air Force stationed at Narsarsuaq was a PBY Catalina in 1947 and a
B-17 Flying Fortress in 1948.
After the war N helicopter until the mid 2010s. Civil air traffic began in 1949 with
Douglas DC-4 propliners operated by
Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and
Icelandair. US and
Denmark signed
The Agreement related to the defense of Greenland on 27 April 1951, with both countries agreeing to share the Bluie West One airbase. In 1952, the Danish Air Force stationed
Airgroup West with a PBY Catalina at the airport. The
US Air Force left
Bluie West One in November 1958, and the airbase was closed. In January 1959,
M/S Hans Hedtoft of Denmark and all on board were lost near the southern tip of Greenland. The Danish Authorities decided to reopen the airport soon after. From November 1959, the Danish Air Force had three PBY Catalinas stationed at Narsarsuaq with the assignment to make ice-observations along the coast of Greenland, and these observations were broadcast to ships in the area. In the 1960s and 1970s,
Greenlandair and SAS both served Narsarsuaq with
Douglas DC-6 propliners while Icelandair operated
Boeing 727 jets. During the 1980s, SAS operated
Douglas DC-8 jets at Narsarsuaq. Since 1 January 1988, the airport has been operated by
Mittarfeqarfiit, the
Greenland Airport Administration. Ice-observations are still based at Narsarsuaq and carried out with the
AS350 Eurocopter aircraft.
Decline The airport served as a regional
focus city for Air Greenland until the late 2000s, when tough economic conditions forced the airline to raise the low season prices several times. In 2009, the airline announced the sale of
Kunuunnguaq, a
Boeing 757-200, one of two airliners in the fleet, serving the Narsarsuaq-Copenhagen route. Later in 2009, Air Greenland planned to introduce a triangular route between Narsarsuaq,
Nuuk, and
Reykjavík-Keflavík, using its newly acquired
de Havilland Canada Dash-8 200 turboprops. Air Greenland's route to Reykjavík-Keflavík never materialised due to low ticket sales, adding to resentment amongst businesses and the community of South Greenland. With Air Greenland's Boeing 757 sold on 26 April 2010, the southern Greenland remained without a direct connection to continental Europe. The
2008 financial crisis and the
air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption both contributed to lower passenger demand, while competition from
Air Iceland on the route to Iceland rendered the prospected Air Greenland route to Denmark unprofitable, leading directly to the decline in traffic in southern Greenland.
Air Iceland continued to serve seasonal flights to
Reykjavík Airport using Fokker 50 aircraft, as it had done in years before.
Icelandair (merged branding with
Air Iceland Connect in 2021), redirected its flights to Reykjavík-Keflavík Airport (KEF) in 2022, from Reykjavík Airport (RKV). Icelandair had flown Narsarsuaq to Keflavík previously when it operated Boeing 727 jets. The airline began serving Narsarsuaq with
Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in 2024, but reverted to using
Dash 8 aircraft the following summer. The first Greenland Air Trophy took place at Narsarsuaq Airport, 30 June 2019. The winning pilot was Rene Petersen of Greenland, second and third places both taken by French pilots.
Conversion to heliport and transition to Qaqortoq Airport After decades of discussion, in 2018 a decision was made to construct an airport nearer to
Qaqortoq, the largest town in South Greenland. This eliminates the need for Narsarsuaq as a domestic and Iceland-bound gateway to South Greenland.
Qaqortoq Airport opened in april 2026. In 2022, the Greenlandic government decided that Narsarsuaq will be downscaled to a heliport, losing the runway.
General aviation and
ferry flights crossing the
North Atlantic ocean will be redirected to other airports for refuelling, such as
Qaqortoq Airport, which will have a similar runway length and operational capability as Narsarsuaq Airport.
Narsarsuaq village will remain inhabited, though the future loss of the airport function is already having its toll. Air Greenland's seasonal route to Copenhagen ceased on 16 September 2025, as from 2026, traffic will transition to
Qaqortoq Airport and is unable to support larger transatlantic aircraft. Similarly, the last
Icelandair flight to
Reykjavík-Keflavík departed on 30 September 2025, as the summer season ended and will move its seasonal route to
Qaqortoq Airport beginning in 2026. In October 2025, Greenland Airport announced layoffs at Narsarsuaq Airport, involving around 70 people, as it begins to transition into a heliport. Before the airport was downgraded, in the terminal there was a simple cafeteria, a
duty-free 'Nanoq' shop, as well as a small tourist office, which helped coordinate
general aviation activities at the airport. On 16 April 2026,
Qaqortoq Airport opened and all fixed-wing and connecting helicopter services were transferred there. ==Airlines and destinations==