Because of the evening before, we did not took many pictures. One we did took was after our very early (7:30 am) CheckIn at the counter of Air Greenland in Terminal 2 of Kastrup airport.
Boarding would start one hour later, which gave us the opportunity to enter the contract lounge and fill our bodies with caffene and other things.
And then: Off to Greenland!
First of all: I do like the red painting of this Airbus!
We spend a little bit more to sit for 4 hours in the "Premium Class", which is more like Premium Eco. But a very bright interior, of course modern seats and a nice place to be for a few hours.
While everyone else was boarding, we checked where Air Greenland does fly.
The seasonal route from Copenhagen to Narsarsuaq is discontinued if I remember correctly. Otherwise, the carrier hopes to get more and more international destinations once the other airports allow this.
Still my favourite thing after 30+ years of flying: Looking outside the windows during start and landing!
The features of the inflight entertainment were ok, although I did not explore the movie section as I used my tablet. And my partner felt asleep the moment she sat down. So the moving map it was for most of the time.
The breakfast was very hearty and after last night very much needed.
A side note: from here on, the language of the Greenlandic natives was omnipresent. A language that is not really intuitive.
As our destination is far north of the Arctic Circle, we wouldn't have any darkness for the next few days. This was made clear, for example, by the slightly different display of sunrise and sunset at the bottom right.
And then we got our first views of Greenland.
Greenland has just under 57000 inhabitants, most of whom live in the western coastal region. Around 20000 inhabitants live in the capital Nuuk, which is located further south. The settlements, which are often far apart, have no road connections, so the only options for getting to neighbouring villages are ships, planes or helicopters, dog sleds, quad bikes or hikes lasting several days.
Our destination today, Kangerlussuaq, lies at the end of a fjord and is about 50 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle and about 130 kilometres from the open sea, making it by far the most inland town in Greenland.
However, Kangerlussuaq was more or less created artificially, as a US airbase was established here in 1941 and the town was built around the barracks. On 30 September 1992, the military base was finally handed over to the Greenlandic government for the symbolic price of 1 Danish krone. However, the US Air Force has the right to use the airport, which is why it will probably be kept open in the future. How things will continue here is highly uncertain, as the town practically lives from the tourists who have to fly via the airport which, as I said before, is going to end once the other airports are finished.
The approach was definitely beautiful as we flew past the airport, turned 180 degrees and then landed.
Touchdown in Greenland! When we disembarked, we were reminded of Bhutan (where we have been in 2019): You walk down the gangway and must / can walk to the terminal on your own.
