History
Before the airport was opened in the 1990s, Sisimiut had been served by the now-closed heliport, located on the eastern outskirts of the town, in Sisimiut valley.
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 − planes particularly suited to the often severe weather conditions in Greenland. 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.
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. 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 as of 2010, 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.
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