Departure
93%
vs 95% ▼ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Narsarsuaq Airport (BGBW) lies at the head of the Tunulliarfik Fjord in Kujalleq, southern Greenland, a former World War II airbase turned civilian gateway that for decades was one of only two fields in the country able to handle large aircraft. Renowned among ferry pilots for its dramatic fjord approach hemmed in by mountains, the airfield was downgraded from an international airport to a heliport in 2026 when scheduled fixed-wing services were transferred to the newly built Qaqortoq Airport. For the simulator pilot it remains one of the most storied and visually spectacular destinations in the North Atlantic.
Narsarsuaq began life as the American wartime airbase Bluie West One and grew into a key civilian airport serving southern Greenland, functioning for decades as one of only two Greenlandic fields capable of handling large aircraft alongside Kangerlussuaq. It sits at the innermost end of the Tunulliarfik Fjord, surrounded by steep terrain, and became legendary among general aviation ferry pilots as a staging point on the North Atlantic crossing between Iceland and Canada. Following the opening of Qaqortoq Airport, scheduled fixed-wing services moved away and Narsarsuaq was downgraded to a heliport in 2026, but its history and dramatic setting still make it a fascinating destination to fly to in the simulator.
The airfield is at Narsarsuaq, a small settlement in the Kujalleq municipality of southern Greenland, positioned at the head of the Tunulliarfik Fjord. It lies roughly midway between Reykjavik and Goose Bay, Newfoundland, a location that made it an important refuelling stop for piston singles and twins with the endurance for four- to seven-hour legs. The new Qaqortoq Airport, which has taken over scheduled fixed-wing traffic, is about 37 nautical miles to the south.
Narsarsuaq has a single physical runway, 06/24, 6,475 feet long with a hard surface and lighting. There is no ILS.
The field is served by an AFIS (Aerodrome Flight Information Service) on 119.1 MHz.
Narsarsuaq has long had a reputation among pilots as a challenging destination, particularly in poor weather, owing to its fjord-side location surrounded by mountainous terrain that constrains the approach. Pilots flying the North Atlantic ferry route between Iceland and Canada have historically treated it with respect for this reason.
The airfield sits at the head of the Tunulliarfik Fjord, with the surrounding high ground forming the dominant visual feature for any approach. The fjord itself, southwest of the former airbase, was also the site of the wreck of the supply ship SS Montrose in 1942.
The airfield was built by the United States Department of War as an army airbase, with construction beginning in July 1941 and the first aircraft landing in January 1942. Codenamed Bluie West One, it hosted PBY Catalina flying boats and B-25 Mitchell bombers tasked with escorting Allied convoys and hunting German submarines, and a 250-bed military hospital was completed in 1943. Around 4,000 personnel were stationed at the base during the war, through which more than 10,000 aircraft are estimated to have been ferried. On 6 July 1942 the supply ship SS Montrose was wrecked on a cliff in the Tunulliarfik Fjord southwest of the airbase. The Danish Air Force first stationed a PBY Catalina at Narsarsuaq in 1947 and a B-17 Flying Fortress in 1948, and civil air traffic began in 1949 with Douglas DC-4 propliners operated by SAS and Icelandair. The United States and Denmark signed an agreement on 27 April 1951 to share the base, and in 1952 the Danish Air Force stationed Airgroup West, with a PBY Catalina, at the airport. The US Air Force left in November 1958 and the base closed, but following the loss of the M/S Hans Hedtoft near southern Greenland in January 1959 the Danish authorities decided to reopen it; from November 1959 three Danish Air Force PBY Catalinas were based there for ice observation along the Greenland coast. Through the 1960s and 1970s Greenlandair and SAS operated Douglas DC-6 propliners at Narsarsuaq while Icelandair flew Boeing 727 jets, and in the 1980s SAS used Douglas DC-8 jets. Mittarfeqarfiit, the Greenland Airport Administration, has operated the airport since 1 January 1988. The airport later served as a regional focus city for Air Greenland until economic pressures in the late 2000s led to the sale of its Boeing 757 in 2010 and a marked decline in southern Greenland's direct connections to Europe, a decline compounded by the 2008 financial crisis and the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption. Charter flights to Copenhagen resumed in 2012 via Jettime, and Icelandair (later merged with Air Iceland Connect) continued seasonal services before redirecting flights to Keflavik in 2022 and briefly operating Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in 2024. The first Greenland Air Trophy air race was held at Narsarsuaq on 30 June 2019, won by Greenlandic pilot Rene Petersen. In 2018 Greenland's authorities decided to close the airport to fixed-wing traffic and develop Qaqortoq to take over that role; scheduled fixed-wing services transferred to the new Qaqortoq Airport on 16 April 2026, after which Narsarsuaq was downgraded to a heliport.
Narsarsuaq now operates as a heliport rather than a fixed-wing airport, following the transfer of scheduled services to Qaqortoq Airport in April 2026. Ice observation flights along the Greenland coast are still based there, carried out using AS350 Eurocopter helicopters.
