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Soon I will be in Montreal and I will need to return the UK but I am not in a hurry so I am looking for an interesting way home. Looking at a map, an obvious idea is via Greenland and Iceland. However, I am struggling to find how to get from Canada to Greenland except by overshooting to Iceland and coming back. If that is the only way then I will leave a Greenland visit for another day. Canada to the UK via Iceland seems more feasible but it is not a priority as I have been to Iceland.

So far, I have only found Air Nunavut. I have not asked for a quote as I assume that it will be out of the question.

My budget is not exact but here is a limit. The journey from Montreal to UK via Greenland should be less (approximately) than Montreal to UK direct plus a separate return trip from the UK to Greenland.

In case it matters, I am a dual British / Irish (hence EU) citizen.

I have been pointed to this previous question: Flights to Greenland - seasonal ex-North America? I had seen this but it is 10 years old. I thought that things may have changed in 10 years.

badjohn
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  • Does this answer your question? Flights to Greenland - seasonal ex-North America? – gerrit Aug 26 '22 at 09:22
  • Why out of the question? How much are you willing to spend? Air Nunavut seems to fly from Canada to Greenland. Note that you will probably stop at Iceland going from Greenland to the UK as well. – gerrit Aug 26 '22 at 09:25
  • @gerrit It seems to be a charter service which sounds expensive but maybe I dare to look deeper. – badjohn Aug 26 '22 at 09:27
  • There have been seasonal scheduled flights in the past and perhaps there still are, but even with scheduled flights flying via Nunavut is going to be much more expensive than flying via Iceland. – gerrit Aug 26 '22 at 09:33
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    The late Gayot Fow mentioned in his profile and in some posts on the network (and in chat) that he was in the habit of hitching rides in private aircraft, including some transatlantic delivery flights, which typically land in Nuuk. This seems ideal for your requirements, provided you can figure out how to connect with willing pilots as easily as Gayot Fow made it out to be. – phoog Aug 26 '22 at 09:35
  • @phoog A nice idea but I have no idea how to even start. – badjohn Aug 26 '22 at 09:42
  • @gerrit Stopping at Iceland on the way home from Greenland would be fine since it is in the right direction. Overshooting Greenland to Iceland and turning back seems perverse. If that is the only feasible way then I will leave it for another day as a dedicated trip. – badjohn Aug 26 '22 at 09:44
  • Another option is to take a transatlantic cruise, from say Quebec to Southampton. – Weather Vane Aug 26 '22 at 10:26
  • @WeatherVane Thanks but that might fail the budget constraint that I just added. – badjohn Aug 26 '22 at 10:33
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    Wikipedia states: "There are no direct flights to the United States or Canada, although there have been flights Kangerlussuaq – Baltimore, and Nuuk – Iqaluit, which were cancelled because of too few passengers and financial losses. An alternative between Greenland and the United States/Canada is Icelandair with a plane change in Iceland.". From the larger airports, Flightconnections only finds internal flights, or flights to Iceland or Denmark. Doesn't look like there are any ferries either. Royal Artic Line (cargo ship) only have routes to Iceland and Denmark as well. Doesn't look good. – jcaron Aug 26 '22 at 12:16
  • @jcaron That could be answer and, if nothing even better came soon, I would accept it. – badjohn Aug 26 '22 at 12:30
  • Rome2rio likewise only has connections from the US and Canada via Iceland. https://www.swoop-arctic.com/greenland/getting-there says "Whether travelling by air or sea you’ll arrive from the east as there's no access from North America." and "You can only fly to Greenland from Copenhagen & Reykjavik, Keflavik & Akureyri in Iceland. There are currently no direct flights from North America" But here's a hint: "Flying is the most popular route to Greenland as there’s no international ferry service. Alternatively, join an expedition cruise from Svalbard or the Canadian Arctic" But $$$$. – jcaron Aug 26 '22 at 12:31
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    I spoke with some Greenland tour folks in Toronto a year or two ago and they ran all the flights through Iceland or Denmark, if memory serves. Certainly nothing directly from Canada. The US occupies military installations on Greenland so there's probably some direct traffic from North America on that account, but I don't think they approve of hitchhikers. – Spehro Pefhany Aug 26 '22 at 17:40

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There does not seem to be any regular, scheduled and affordable direct service between North America and Greenland.

Rome2rio only finds flights via Iceland.

Wikipedia states:

There are no direct flights to the United States or Canada, although there have been flights Kangerlussuaq – Baltimore, and Nuuk – Iqaluit, which were cancelled because of too few passengers and financial losses. An alternative between Greenland and the United States/Canada is Icelandair with a plane change in Iceland.

From the larger airports (I didn't check the smaller ones), Flightconnections only shows internal flights, or flights to Iceland or Denmark.

There are apparently no ferries either.

The Royal Arctic Line, which operate cargo ships (there's sometimes a way to hitch a passenger ride on some cargo ships) only have routes to Iceland and Denmark (or elsewhere in Europe).

Swoop Arctic state:

Whether travelling by air or sea you’ll arrive from the east as there's no access from North America.

and

You can only fly to Greenland from Copenhagen & Reykjavik, Keflavik & Akureyri in Iceland. There are currently no direct flights from North America.

and

Flying is the most popular route to Greenland as there’s no international ferry service.

But they mention:

join an expedition cruise from Svalbard or the Canadian Arctic.

They do have packages including such cruises, but prices are above the $10K mark.

Exploring the description of the cruise, they use the Ocean Endeavour, which is operated by Adventure Canada, which indeed have expedition cruises between Canada and Greenland (though not all in the right direction for you), but the price is still in the $5K+ range.

There may be options involving private jet repositioning flights/empty legs, but that would probably require a good deal of luck, and I'm not familiar with the best sites for this. And I have no idea what they would charge.

It may be worth it to follow arrivals/departures on Flightradar24 or Flightaware for some of the airports for a few days. One can see there are flights from Air Nunavut (mentioned in the comments to the question, but they seem to be charters so may be expensive) as well as Canadian North (don't see those routes on their website, not sure if those were charters or what). There are also quite a few private planes.

jcaron
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While this might not be what you are looking for, note there's a substantial recent change on the North America-Iceland-Greenland route making the connection much easier: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/traveling-to-greenland-from-us-set-to-become-easier

Typically passengers coming from North America arrive in Iceland's Keflavik International Airport and then have to make the journey by car to Reykjavik City Airport to catch a flight to Greenland, usually factoring in a three- or four-hour transfer or an overnight layover.

Starting June 1, Icelandair will move two of the Greenland flights from Reykjavik City Airport to Keflavik International Airport, flying to Nuuk (Greenland's capital and largest city) and Ilulissat (home to the Disko Bay icebergs and a UNESCO World Heritage site

And if you want to postpone your trip, you don't need to wait long:

Next year, the process will be simplified even further when Greenland finishes renovations on airports in Nuuk and Ilulissat to accommodate direct international flights from Europe and North America.