Narsarsuaq airport

Narsarsuaq Airport Mittarfik Narsarsuaq Narsarsuaq Lufthavn
Characteristics
ICAO code	BGBW
IATA code	UAK
Coordinates	61 ° 9 '39 "  N , 45 ° 25' 32"  W Coordinates: 61 ° 9 '39 "  N , 45 ° 25' 32"  W.
Height above MSL	34 m (112  ft )
Basic data
opening	1942 as a military airfield, 1958 as a civil airport
operator	Greenland Airport Authority ( Mittarfeqarfiit )
Terminals	1
Start-and runway
06/24	1830 m × 45 m concrete

The Narsarsuaq Airport ( IATA code: UAK , ICAO code : BGBW ) is an international airport in Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland .

history

Aerial photograph 1942

During the Second World War , the airfield was built as a US military base . The first Consolidated B-24 aircraft landed here in January 1942. The military designation Bluie West One Airfield became an important transportation hub and a gas station for US aircraft on their way to and from the theaters of war. About 4,000 Americans are believed to have been involved in the operation during the war, and it is estimated that there were about 10,000 aircraft handled on the route between Europe and the United States. The base was also involved to a lesser extent in combating German submarines in the North Atlantic .

From 1941 to 1958 it was operated by the United States Air Force . The Bluie West One Airfield was also important for the Berlin Airlift 1948–1949 company . For planes at the time, the route to Berlin was too far for a direct flight. Aircraft carrying American aid had to stop in Narsarsuaq to refuel.

In 1951 it was agreed that Denmark and the USA would share the airfield. During the Korean War from 1951 to 1954, Narsarsuaq was revived by the US armed forces and large parts of the base were renovated and expanded. A 250-bed hospital was built in the immediate vicinity to care for the wounded from the Korean War.

In 1958, the US base was closed in favor of the strategically more important Thule Air Base in northern Greenland. After renovation work, the airfield was reopened in 1959 by the Danish government as an airport for civil air traffic. The operator is Grønlands Lufthavnsvæsen .

Flight operations

Air Greenland Sikorsky S-61N

The airport has a runway that is 1,830 meters long and 45 meters wide. Since 1959 ICAO code BGBW. In addition to flights to other areas of Greenland, there are also regular flights to Copenhagen and in summer to Reykjavík . Air Greenland operates daily scheduled flights to and from Narsaq , Nuuk and Qaqortoq . Narsarsuaq is a popular tourist destination.

Operating conditions

Take- offs and landings are prohibited when the cloud cover is closed and / or when visibility falls below the VFR minima of 6,000 meters. In the dark, aircraft are only allowed to land in Narsarsuaq, take-offs are prohibited after dusk . Narsarsuaq TIZ is an uncontrolled airspace, radar guidance and guided flight surveillance is not available. Arrival and departure are the sole responsibility of the pilots.

swell

• Daniel Ford: Remembering Bluie West One, Online Book. Retrieved March 22, 2013

Web links

Commons : Narsarsuaq Airport  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Narsarsuaq Airport on the website of the Greenland Airport Authority Mittarfeqarfiit (English, Danish, Greenlandic)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Daniel Ford: Remembering Bluie West One , Publisher: Warbird Books
2. ↑ The Airfield Narsarsuaq ( Memento from July 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) History (English)
3. ↑ Mittarfeqarfiit website
4. ↑ State Minima Landing and Take-off ( Memento from July 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive )