Public support builds for Iqaluit-Nuuk flights
Officials with Air Greenland will travel to Nunavut this month to talk about re-establishing direct flights between Iqaluit and the Greenland capital of Nuuk, an idea that's supported by nearly 1,900 people on an online group.
Air Greenland spokesman Christian Keldsen told CBC News the airline has noticed the Facebook group "Connect Iqaluit and Nuuk!", which boasts 1,897 members as of Tuesday afternoon.
Direct flight would take 2 hours
Nunavut and Greenland share Inuit populations and cultures and are separated only by the Davis Strait, a distance of about 825 kilometres.
But a trip between the two cities currently takes about two or three days, as travellers have to connect through various North American cities and Copenhagen, Denmark.
A direct flight between the two cities would take about two hours.
An air link used to exist for about 20 years, thanks to a partnership between Air Greenland and northern Canadian airline First Air.
But that partnership fell through in 2001, leaving people in both countries without regular direct flights.
Some Iqaluit residents like Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, who joined the group, said it's too expensive to go from Iqaluit to Nuuk via Copenhagen.
