Editing Transport in Greenland (section)

==Air transport==
{{main article|List of airports in Greenland}}
While [[Germany]] occupied [[Denmark]] during [[World War&nbsp;II]], the [[United States]] controlled Greenland and built bases and [[airport]]s. The airports were codenamed as [[Bluie West One]] through to [[Bluie West Eight]] on the west of the island and [[Bluie]] East One to Blue East Four on the eastern side (some had only sea plane access, some no air access). The largest of those airports, [[Bluie West Eight]], now renamed [[Kangerlussuaq Airport]], became the international hub for travel to Greenland for decades, as it was the only airport that had a long enough runway to service [[Wide-body aircraft|large jets]] (not counting Thule Airbase). American authorities at one time entertained the idea of building a road from Kangerlussuaq to the second-largest airport, in Narsarsuaq, several hundred kilometres to the south. The idea was abandoned after feasibility studies failed to prove it was possible. These airbases are generally not located near settlements, so travellers needed an air transfer by helicopter (small plane from Kangerlussuaq) to reach settlements. All civil aviation matters are handled by the [[Civil Aviation Administration Denmark]] or the [[Greenland Airport Authority]]. In 2024, [[Nuuk Airport]] was extensively rebuilt and expanded, leading to the transition of the international hub from Kangerlussuaq.

Greenland has 18 airstrips, 14 of which are paved. Some are based on US airbases, but most are built by the Greenlandic government. All domestic flights are operated by [[Air Greenland]]. The name was [[anglicisation|anglicized]] in 2002 from the [[Danish language|Danish]] Grønlandsfly (Air Greenland in English). Year-round scheduled International flights are to  [[Copenhagen Airport|Copenhagen]] and [[Keflavík International Airport|Keflavík-Reykjavík Airport]], Iceland. Other airlines operate seasonal and charter flights.
[[Icelandair]] flies from Keflavík-Reykjavík to [[Nuuk Airport|Nuuk]], [[Kulusuk Airport|Kulusuk]], [[Ilulissat Airport|Ilulissat]] and [[Narsarsuaq Airport|Narsarsuaq]]. Air Greenland has also operated a route from [[Iqaluit]] in Canada to Nuuk during summer during some years.

Air cargo is very important for Greenland. Most perishable foodstuff is imported from Denmark by air. It uses the Air Greenland Copenhagen–Nuuk passenger aircraft, and this is a reason why such a large aircraft is used.{{clarify|date=October 2020}} The air containers are then transported to the other airports by small planes that can use the small runways. Previously, when Kangerlussuaq was the hub, some air cargo was transported by boat from Kangerlussuaq, but not in the winter when the [[Kangerlussuaq Fjord]] freezes (one of the reasons to build the Sisimiut–Kangerlussuaq road).

A state-owned firm called Kalaallit Airports is since 2017 tasked with operating and updating the airports in Nuuk and Ilulissat.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-silkroad-greenland-idUSKCN1LQ2BX|title=Greenland picks Denmark as airport project partner over Beijing|date=2018-09-10|work=Reuters|access-date=2018-12-19|language=en}}</ref> This process has been contentious as Chinese firms bid for the contract, with one Danish PM stating "We don't want a communist dictatorship in our backyard."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46386867|title=Could Greenland become China's Arctic base?|last=Simpson|first=John|date=2018-12-18|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-12-19|language=en-GB}}</ref>