Canadian North and Air Greenland announce Letter of Intent, committing to explore opportunities to improve connectivity between Greenland and Canada

Editor -

December 9, 2020 – Canadian North and Air Greenland announced a Letter of Intent (LOI) today, committing to explore partnership opportunities for air service and sustainable tourism development between Greenland and Canada. The LOI (shown here) was signed in Ilulissat on January 27, 2020 by Canadian North Executive Chairman Johnny N. Adams, Canadian North President and CEO Chris Avery, Air Greenland Board Chairman Kjeld Zacho Jørgensen and Air Greenland CEO Jacob Nitter Sørensen.

In a remote presentation to the Greenland Conference 2020 hosted by the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) in Denmark on December 9, 2020 (shown here), Canadian North Executive Chairman Johnny N. Adams provided an update on the impact of COVID-19 on planned next steps. “We were going to announce the LOI in March of 2020, but both of our airlines were occupied with providing safe travel throughout our customers’ journeys and preventing the spread of COVID.”

“Now that there is a vaccine in distribution, it’s time to start looking ahead to partnering on flights through Ottawa-Iqaluit-Nuuk and Ottawa-Iqaluit-Ilulissat. We’d also like to connect Greenland directly with southern Canada, possibly via Toronto during the tourism season, which includes March, April and August to October.”

“In 2021, we’ll be adding two Boeing 737-700 aircraft to our fleet that will be able to go from Toronto direct to Nuuk or Ilulissat,” elaborated Canadian North President and CEO Chris Avery. “Although we have yet to enter the planning stages of providing this connectivity, the LOI is a reflection of our common goal; to bridge the vast distances between Canada and Greenland. Inuit have traversed the Arctic since time immemorial to gather, share, and trade. Direct flights between the two countries would revitalize this relationship, strengthen cultural ties and provide economic opportunities in tourism and trade.”

“We are pleased to continue working with Air Greenland to bring our shared vision into reality.”