helicopters and
fixed-wing aircraft in Qaarsut Qaarsut airport was inaugurated on 25 September 1999, with the purpose of serving the much larger neighboring town of
Uummannaq, southeast with the terminal building labelled 'Uummannaq', regardless of its actual location, registration, documentation, and existing booking systems. The decision to build the airport in Qaarsut was intended to solve the bottleneck on the
Ilulissat-Uummannaq route (164 km), until then operated by Air Greenland with
Sikorsky S-61N helicopters. Acquired in 1965, they were the oldest machines in the fleet of the airline. The bottleneck problem is considered unsolved, since passengers must still be shuttled between the airport and
Uummannaq Heliport. The primary function of the airport as a local hub has
unintended consequences for communities of northern Greenland. Previously, all flights to
Qaanaaq Airport included a stopover in
Upernavik Airport. In order to avoid an overnight layover in
Upernavik, all
Qaanaaq-bound passengers had to travel via Qaarsut. Flights on the Ilulissat-Qaarsut route were often sold out, which given a single weekly flight to Qaanaaq, left passengers unable to travel to or from the northern communities, resulting in resentment. This changed and by 2017, it is possible to travel Ilulissat–Qaanaaq with direct flights, or one plane change in Upernavik without travelling via Qaarsut, Proposals to close the airport have to date been rejected.
Sunk costs, tourism potential for northwestern and northern Greenland, and the 2010 reinvigoration of the
mining activities in
Maamorilik northeast of
Ukkusissat, as well as on
Appat Island in the future−are the primary reasons for keeping the airport open. == Airlines and destinations ==