Air Greenland's A330neo, Tuukkaq, will be the first large aircraft to land and take off when the new 2,220-meter runway in Nuuk opens on November 28, 2024.
"It will be a historic event, which we look forward to marking together with Kalaallit Airports and the population," says Jacob Nitter Sørensen, CEO of Air Greenland, following the official announcement of the commissioning of the 2,200-meter runway at Nuuk International Airport.
"The date has been mentioned a couple of times, but we have been waiting for the public announcement before we would say anything about our specific flight plans on the day. We now know that it will be our A330neo, Tuukkaq, which will be the first large aircraft to land and take off in Nuuk on November 28, 2024. We are very happy about this, says Jacob Nitter Sørensen and elaborates:
"It has great symbolic significance that it is a red airplane from the flag carrier that inaugurates the full length of the runway, just as we also inaugurated the runway in 1979 with a DASH-7. In this way, we are showing the flag on this historic day, says Jacob Nitter Sørensen.
Air Greenland's timetable for 2024 has long been for sale, but without the route between Nuuk and Copenhagen. The announcement from Kalaallit Airports today means that the timetable must be changed to incorporate the new direct route between Nuuk and Copenhagen, and work has begun.
"Nuuk Airport will be the new hub for international and domestic flights to the entire country, where passengers will change planes depending on their final destination, just as we see today in Kangerlussuaq. As soon as we know the final airport charges and the last details of the flight pattern, we look forward to putting the new timetable on sale in all the known sales channels on Air Greenland's website and through travel agencies," explains Jacob Nitter Sørensen.
Air Greenland is already noticing that tickets for the first flight with Tuukkaq on the new route are in high demand.
"We receive inquiries from customers and media who regularly ask about the plans for Tuukkaq and the opening of the runway. We can inform you that the first flight will be a commercial scheduled flight and we will announce as soon as the tickets go on sale, states Jacob Nitter Sørensen