Expanding the possibilities

Nuuk Airport in Greenland, modernizes with AviMet AWOS for airport safety and efficiency

The client: COMSA Corporación, Kalaallit Airports Group
Vaisala provided: AviMet® Automated Weather Observing System AWOS

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Increasing air traffic in Arctic conditions

At Nuuk Airport, Greenland, an expansion is underway that will help the city of Nuuk advance their goals of boosting the local economy and tourism. The single runway has served the city for decades, but its length and mountainous surroundings limited service to small aircraft. This is changing as the airport builds an expanded runway plus two taxiways, a dedicated air traffic control tower, and new terminal area.

An expansion of this scale demands modern technology that is designed to grow with an airport’s needs to support safe, efficient flights. This is a significant challenge for Nuuk Airport, which is subject to Arctic weather including freezing conditions, high winds and low visibility.

COMSA Corporación is up to the task as they acquire and install the right solutions to modernize this unique airport.

Trusted performance and reliability

Building on the airport’s success and experience using Vaisala technology, COMSA and Kalaallit Airports Group chose the Vaisala AviMet® Automated Weather Observing System AWOS to provide comprehensive and reliable real-time weather data.

AviMet AWOS collects, processes and visualizes meteorological data in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standards. Based on over 45 years of aviation expertise, the system helps aviation personnel make critical decisions by providing continuous, real-time reports on airport weather conditions.

The solution is fully integrated with a range of Vaisala technology that provides accurate and dependable weather and runway condition reporting. Specially designed for performance with AviMet AWOS is the Vaisala Automatic Weather Station AWS310-SITE, which provides reliable and accurate weather measurements using ICAO- and WMO-compliant sensors.

The reference grade Vaisala Forward Scatter Sensor

FD70 is the leading forward scatter technology for visibility and present weather, including runway visual range (RVR). The FD70 provides constant performance — even freezing drizzle and rain, ice pellets, and intense or mixed precipitation.

Nuuk Airport gets minute-by- minute awareness of runway, taxiway, and ramp conditions with the Vaisala Runway Weather Station RWS200 and Vaisala Road Sensor DRS511. The combination of devices provides precise, reliable measurements to ensure safety and mobility.

Accurate wind data is provided by the Vaisala WMT700 which performs reliably even in variable winds, complex terrain, and other challenging conditions. Rounding out the essential meteorological measurements are the Vaisala Humidity and Temperature Probe HMP155 and Vaisala PTB330 Digital Barometer — both optimized for dependable performance in outdoor installations.

Positioned for safe and efficient flights

Nuuk Airport is set up for success. The state-of-the-art AviMet AWOS provides the highest level of accuracy and dependability, in real time, in all weather conditions — guaranteed — which gives the airport the ability to ensure safe and efficient operations with confidence.

As the airport prepares to welcome a wider range of aircraft plus increased traffic, efficient air traffic control will become even more important. AviMet AWOS gives pilots and aviation personnel the best situational awareness to mitigate the effects of the weather, which will lead to fewer delays and cancellations plus greater uptime.

The expansion of Nuuk Airport is key for economic development and will open possibilities for the city of Nuuk and the country of Greenland. Now the airport is prepared to welcome new and greater connections.

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The Government of Greenland founded Kalaallit Airports A/S on 1st July 2016. The company’s purpose was to build, own and operate airports at Nuuk, Ilulissat and Qaqortoq. Construction work at both Ilulissat and Nuuk began in Q4 of 2020 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.

The airport at Nuuk is built with, among other things, a runway measuring 2,200 meters, two taxiways, a tower function in an independent tower building, and a terminal area with an apron and building plots for terminal and service buildings. The runways at both Nuuk and Ilulissat will, among other things, be fitted with ILS (Instrument Landing System), which is precision landing equipment that enables landings with reduced visibility and improves the regularity of airports.