# Ilulissat Airport (JAV)

> Ilulissat, GL · IATA: JAV · ICAO: BGJN · Medium Airport

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `JAV` |
| ICAO | `BGJN` |
| City | Ilulissat |
| Country | GL |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 29 m |
| Cargo | ❌ |
| GPS | 69.24320, -51.05710 |

## Description

Ilulissat is about to change category rather than merely expand: from 29 October 2026 Air Greenland flies non-stop to Copenhagen, turning Ilulissat Airport (IATA: JAV, ICAO: BGJN) from a domestic strip into northern Greenland's international access point. Greenland Airports is replacing the short runway with a 2,200-metre strip plus a new passenger terminal and control tower, mirroring the layout built at Nuuk. Until now Air Greenland has served the country's third-largest town on Disko Bay only within the domestic network, chiefly from Nuuk and Kangerlussuaq, with freight carried purely as belly load. The A330neo "Tuukkaq" on the Copenhagen rotation creates the first direct belly-cargo link to Europe: one weekly departure on Wednesdays, rising to two — Mondays and Wednesdays — during the winter season from 1 to 27 March 2027. Heavy and bulky goods stay on the water, with Royal Arctic Line serving Ilulissat from Aalborg via Nuuk and carrying building materials, vehicles and most foodstuffs. Greenland belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark but sits outside the EU and its customs territory, so consignments require export and import clearance even when they come from Denmark. Alternatives for Greenland air freight are Nuuk (GOH), about 560 kilometres south and internationally capable since 2024, and Kangerlussuaq (SFJ), the traditional widebody gateway; no roads connect Greenlandic towns, so pre- and on-carriage runs by ship, helicopter or aircraft.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/ilulissat-airport-jav](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/ilulissat-airport-jav)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/ilulissat-airport-jav](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/ilulissat-airport-jav)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/ilulissat-airport-jav/llm-summary*