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Qaqortoq Heliport
Qaqortoq Heliport (IATA: JJU, ICAO: BGJH) is a heliport in the southern part[1] of Qaqortoq, a town in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The distance to Narsarsuaq Airport, the only airport with flights from Qaqortoq, is 59 kilometres (37 mi). A large international airport is currently under construction as of 2024, and is due to be complete by late 2026. Equipped with a 1,500 metre runway, it will replace the current heliport as well as fixed-wing flights from Narsarsuaq Airport.[3] Airlines and destinations
Air Greenland operates government contract flights to villages in the Qaqortoq region. These mostly cargo flights are not featured in the timetable,[4] although they can be pre-booked.[5] Departure times for these flights as specified during booking are by definition approximate, with the settlement service optimized on the fly depending on local demand for a given day. FutureThe future of the heliport is connected to the wider network of air traffic in southern Greenland. In December 2015 the Greenland government decided on construction of an airport (used for fixed-wing aircraft) close to Qaqortoq with a 1,500-metre (4,921 ft) runway. The chosen site is at 60°45′51″N 46°3′57″W / 60.76417°N 46.06583°W, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of town, having a decided runway length of 1,500 metres (4,921 ft).[6] This length is considered the minimum requirement for supporting future economic development, especially within the tourism sector, allowing propeller aircraft of near 100 seats (such as DHC-8-Q400) to fly all seats used domestically and to Iceland.[7] There is room for an extension of up to 1,800 metres (5,906 ft), [citation needed] which would allow for jet aircraft to use the airport. The access road to the airport site was completed as a gravel road in 2017, though it will eventually be an asphalt road when the airport is finally completed. The first rock blastings at the airport site were conducted at a ceremony during early November 2016.[citation needed] As of October 2024, the new airport is under construction and is due to be completed in late 2026.[8][3] A large setback happened in April 2020 when the procurement of the airport construction was halted because all offers were well above the project budget.[9] A contract with a construction company from Canada was finally signed in February 2022.[10][11] Following the completion of this airport, Narsarsuaq Airport will be closed and downgraded to a heliport.[12] Exact plans for the heliport meanwhile remain ambiguous. References
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