Sisimiut Airport

Sisimiut Airport
Mittarfik Sisimiut
Sisimiut Lufthavn

de Havilland Canada Dash-7 "Taateraaq" of Air Greenland at Sisimiut Airport
IATA: JHS – ICAO: BGSS
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Greenland Airport Authority
(Mittarfeqarfiit)
Serves Sisimiut, Greenland
Elevation AMSL 33 ft / 10 m
Coordinates 66°57′05″N 053°43′46″W / 66.95139°N 53.72944°W / 66.95139; -53.72944Coordinates: 66°57′05″N 053°43′46″W / 66.95139°N 53.72944°W / 66.95139; -53.72944
Website Sisimiut Airport
Map
BGSS

Location in Greenland

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
13/31 799 2,621 Asphalt
Statistics (2012)
Passengers 22,955
Source: Danish AIS[1] Greenland

Sisimiut Airport (Greenlandic: Mittarfik Sisimiut) (IATA: JHS, ICAO: BGSS) is an airport located 2.2 NM (4.1 km; 2.5 mi) northwest of Sisimiut,[1] a town in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. The airport has a single runway designated 13/31 which measures 799 by 30 m (2,621 by 98 ft), built on the northern shore of Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay.

For scheduled flights, the airport is served exclusively by Air Greenland, serving as a fly-through destination with no aircraft stationed onsite. Operated by Mittarfeqarfiit, it is also used for general aviation purposes.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Air Greenland Aasiaat, Ilulissat, Kangerlussuaq, Maniitsoq, Nuuk[2]

History

The helipad at the old, now closed heliport east of Sisimiut.

Before the airport was opened in the 1990s,[3] Sisimiut had been served by the now-closed heliport, located on the eastern outskirts of the town, in Sisimiut valley.

Sisimiut Airport is perched on the shore edge of Davis Strait. Runway and terminal seen from the Palasip Qaqqaa mountain.

The construction of Sisimiut Airport was part of the regional airport network extension in Greenland, with several airports built to serve STOL aircraft of Air Greenland − the venerable De Havilland Canada Dash-7s acquired in the preceding decade[4] − planes particularly suited to the often severe weather conditions in Greenland.[5] The other new additions were Maniitsoq Airport in the southern part of the Qeqqata municipality, Aasiaat Airport in western Greenland; Qaarsut Airport and Upernavik Airport in northwestern Greenland.[3]

The four-engine DHC-7 of Air Greenland landing at Sisimiut Airport after the shuttle flight from Kangerlussuaq Airport.

Roads in Sisimiut, including the road to the airport, are surfaced, but there is no road linking Sisimiut to any other settlement. In the 2000s construction of the 170 km (110 mi) road to Kangerlussuaq was discussed for several years without resolution.[6] The road would have been the first of its kind in Greenland, connecting two settlements, and reducing the need for passenger exchange at Kangerlussuaq Airport, the airline hub.

With 5,460 inhabitants in 2010,[7] Sisimiut is the second-largest town in Greenland, one of the few towns in the country exhibiting growth patterns, with corresponding increasing passenger traffic at Sisimiut Airport. Air Greenland pledges to maintain a relatively high number of flights at the airport even should the construction of the road to Kangerlussuaq commence. Apart from the connecting flights to Kangerlussuaq, the busiest routes are the routes to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, and to Ilulissat, the cultural and business center of Qaasuitsup, the northernmost and largest municipality in the country.

Future

In shorter term there are plans to extend the runway a little, in connection with replacement of the Air Greenland fleet.

There is a discussion to build a 170 km road to Kangerlussuaq. The plans say that the Sisimiut Airport might be closed after that. That would mean lower cost for the country and the travelers, since an airport is fairly expensive to maintain, but longer travel time, especially domestic. If keeping the airport, the road might be unprofitable. There are also suggestions to build a large airport near Nuuk and close the Kangerlussuaq airport since few people live there and mostly work with the airport. In that case the road would be unneeded.

Facilities

Terminal interior. The seats are upholstered with seal fur.

There is no deicing equipment at the airport, which is costly and problematic in Greenlandic winter.[8] All passengers connecting through the airport and continuing with the same plane to another destination are required to disembark and undergo regular boarding process checks before they can re-board and continue the flight.

At the terminal there is a Post Greenland box, a soft drink machine and television, and a small exhibition from the Sisimiut Museum. A workstation in kiosk mode provides tourist, municipal and airport related information. Taxis as well as an infrequent town bus service connect the airport with the center of Sisimiut.

References

Air Greenland-branded opening hours and check-in notice in the Greenlandic and Danish languages.
  1. 1 2 Greenland AIP for BGSS – Sisimiut Airport from Naviair
  2. ↑ "Booking system". Air Greenland. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  3. 1 2 Air Greenland 50th Anniversary "Grønlandsfly 1990-99" Check |url= value (help) (in Danish). Air Greenland. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  4. ↑ Air Greenland 50th Anniversary "Grønlandsfly 1980-89" Check |url= value (help) (in Danish). Air Greenland. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  5. ↑ Michael Binzer (Air Greenland) (2003). Air Greenland Airbus A330-200, Boeing 757-200, Dash 7 & Sikorsky 61 (DVD). Just Planes Videos. ISBN 1-931438-85-4.
  6. ↑ Sisimiut.gl
  7. ↑ Statistics Greenland, Greenland in Figures, 2010
  8. ↑ "Defective equipment costs Air Greenland millions". Sermitsiaq. 18 November 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
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