In 2024, the airport was comprehensively rebuilt and expanded, including a runway extension and a new terminal, which allows larger jet aircraft to serve more international destinations.

Previously, longer-distance jet traffic was operated from Kangerlussuaq Airport, necessitating transfers and longer journey times.

The former suburbs of Nuuk, such as Nuussuaq, Quassussuup Tungaa, and Qinngorput, incorporated into the town in the last decade, have brought the city closer to the airport.

As of 2010 the airport is within walking distance of the nearest continuously inhabited area, its runway approximately 700 m (2,300 ft) from the University of Greenland campus.

[8][9] Even in the later era of the fixed-wing, turboprop plane domination, the S-61N helicopters continued to link Nuuk with the smaller town of Paamiut, until the airport was built there in 2007, replacing the old heliport.

The runway platform bed was composed of broken rock and rubble, topped with gravel, and was protected by a low, wooden fence.

[12] The first international flights from Nuuk Airport were to Iqaluit in Nunavut, Canada, operated from 1981 until it was discontinued due to commercial inviability in 1994.

Due to the commercial inviability of international flights to Canada and Iceland using smaller STOL aircraft, for years afterwards international flights to Greenland were limited to Kangerlussuaq Airport in central western Greenland, 319 km (198 mi) to the north of Nuuk, an airport inherited from the U.S. Air Force when the former Sondrestrom Air Base was handed over to the then home rule government on 30 September 1992.

[23] Considering the growth of Nuuk as a commercial and administrative centre in Greenland as well as increasing tourism, there was a need to improve flight connections to the country's capital.

[25] The short runway was highly problematic, as it made the airfield unusable even for regional jet aircraft; for instance, the Bombardier CRJ family with 50–100 seats.

An extension of the runway in the other direction would have brought the endpoint close to Qinngorput, the newest district of Nuuk, which was rapidly expanding in the late 2000s.

[25][26] Air Greenland was initially resistant to relocating its hub, pointing out the financial implications of such a move, and highlighting the consistently favourable weather conditions at Kangerlussuaq.

Air connections were essential for cruise ship passengers, as staying onboard from Europe or the USA and back is often too time-consuming and expensive.

Another suggested alternative was to build a new airport on one of the islands of Angisunnguaq or Qeqertarssuaq, locations having less turbulence, and allowing 2,800 m (9,200 ft) runway needed for the large planes for flights to Denmark.

With the aim to keep the airport operational during construction, the southern part of the new runway was built first and opened in November 2022, with the same declared length of 950 metres.

[34][35] Subsequently, Air Greenland transitioned its hub from Kangerlussuaq Airport to Nuuk, along with its Copenhagen route operated using its Airbus A330-800.

[40] On 10 October 2024, United Airlines announced that they will launch a new direct flight from Newark to Nuuk operating twice weekly, beginning on 14 June 2025.

[45] Adverse weather conditions affecting runway friction minimums led to numerous cancellations of transatlantic Air Greenland flights in December 2024 and January 2025,[46] which meant Kangerlussuaq Airport was temporarily reactivated as a hub for a day.

[49] Navigational aids serving the airport include ILS, GH NDB, LOC instrument approach and distance measuring equipment.

[50] Line 3 of Nuup Bussii connects the airport with Nuuk Centrum, passing through the Nuussuaq and Quassussuup Tungaa districts on the way.

[63] Nuuk Airport is depicted in the 2013 film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, with an Air Greenland widebody aircraft landing there.