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Air Greenland's international flights out of Nuuk suspended, leaving some Nunavut passengers stranded

Air Greenland’s security authorization at Nuuk Airport has been revoked, meaning Wednesday's weekly flight to Iqaluit could not leave.

Airline says it expects a full resolution by Tuesday

A plane that says Air Greenland on it.
An Air Greenland flight in Iqaluit on June 26, 2024. The airline says its security authorization for the Nuuk airport in Greenland has been revoked, grounding flights to Iqaluit for the time being. (Matisse Harvey/Radio-Canada )

Air Greenland's international flights in and out of Nuuk, Greenland, are temporarily suspended, leaving some people from Nunavut stranded.

Greenland Airports' security authorization at Nuuk Airport has been revoked by the Danish Transport Authority, meaning Wednesday's weekly flight to Iqaluit could not leave, according to an announcement on the airline's website. 

Assol Kubeisinova, who lives in Iqaluit, is among those stuck in Nuuk.

She's been told there could be a special flight for affected passengers on Friday.

"I only found out two hours before the flight was supposed to take off," Kubeisinova said.

She had checked out of her hotel and wasn't checking her email. 

For now, she said, she's waiting it out. 

A woman takes a selfie outside in Greenland
Assol Kubeisinova, who lives in Iqaluit, is stuck in Nuuk until at least Friday. (Submitted by Assol Kubeisinova)

"Oh I do have a few spots that I've been to already and I'm looking forward to going there with a coffee and a book, and just looking at the ocean," she said.

She also said the passengers on the cancelled flight to Iqaluit were given meal vouchers and taxi vouchers, and were booked into hotels in town. 

"That was quite nice that everything was prepared and ready," she said. "I guess it gives me an extra few days to explore the city."

CBC has reached out to Air Greenland and Canadian North, who has a partnership with the route, for interviews. 

The Iqaluit to Greenland flights launched earlier this year, in June. 

In its post, Air Greenland said it expects a full resolution by Tuesday. 

Corrections

  • An earlier version of this story said Air Greenland's security authorization at Nuuk Airport had been revoked. In fact, Greenland Airports' security authorization was revoked.
    Aug 20, 2024 2:04 PM CT

With files from Samuel Wat