Aviation in Greenland began with the establishment of military airbases by the US during World War II, primarily Kangerlussuaq (then Sondrestrom and Blui West Eight) and Narsarsuaq (then Blui West One).
These bases later facilitated civilian flights, including transatlantic routes, before the development of a domestic network served by Air Greenland (formerly Grønlandsfly).
When the company first started under the name Greenland Airlines, it was with the primary task of servicing the United States Air Force when their four DYE stations were to be supplied.
The airline started with seaplanes and helicopters, expanding to fixed-wing aircraft and a network of short runway airports, eventually taking over international routes from SAS.
Air Greenland has trained own staff of Greenlanders, who are today a mixture of Inuit and Danish or other Europeans and is a great success story of the development of a state owned company run commercially - albeit with subsidy, anchored in and serving the local community incl companies working in Greenland and participating in the development of tourism.
