The runways that keep the Arctic connected

This is part of an ongoing series exploring Arctic infrastructure — from ports and airports to fiber optic cables and spaceports. Drawing on an interactive StoryMap published by the Arctic Economic Council (AEC), each installment examines a different layer of the infrastructure that connects and shapes life in the high north. With only about four million people across the region and climate change redrawing the map in real time, the Arctic faces a rare combination of urgent need and wide-open possibility.

In much of the Arctic, the runway is the only reliable year-round link to the outside world. Roads are often seasonal or nonexistent. Rail networks barely reach above the treeline. That makes airports not just transportation infrastructure but lifelines for food, medicine, emergency services and basic participation in modern life.

There are roughly 676 airports currently maintained across the Arctic, according to the Arctic Council’s AMATII project. Of those, Nordregio counts seven large and 260 medium-sized airports with regular passenger traffic. The rest are small strips, many unpaved, some without instrument landing systems, serving remote communities and resource operations.

Here’s how the network breaks down by country:

• Alaska has the most airports by far, but the vast majority are small gravel strips. Deep-draft port cities like Anchorage and Fairbanks have major facilities; remote villages rely on bush planes and seasonal access. Alaskan airports are set to receive $390 million under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
• Canada has 79 Arctic airports. The federal government committed $7.4 million to assess 61 northern aerodromes, but transport costs in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut still run 36% higher than the Canadian average, and communications costs 160% higher.
• Russia has 71 civil airports in the Arctic, though additional military airfields aren’t included in public counts. Many Soviet-era facilities have deteriorated and face ongoing maintenance challenges.
• Greenland is in the middle of its biggest infrastructure project ever — three new airports at Nuuk, Ilulissat, and Qaqortoq. Nuuk’s new international airport opened in November 2024 with a 2,200-metre runway enabling direct transatlantic flights for the first time. Qaqortoq opened in April 2026. Ilulissat is expected later in 2026. Builders blasted 12.5 million cubic metres of rock to create flat ground for the Nuuk and Ilulissat runways alone.
• Scandinavia and Iceland have the most developed airport networks relative to population, with ice-free, well-maintained facilities. Northern Norway and Iceland increasingly position their airports for dual civilian-military use.

Construction in the Arctic is uniquely difficult. Working seasons are short, often just May through November. Permafrost shifts can buckle runways. Fog, crosswinds off fjords, and snow-covered surfaces make landings hazardous. Most facilities were built decades ago and many can’t accommodate larger modern aircraft.

For remote and Indigenous communities, limited airport infrastructure translates directly into higher costs of living, restricted healthcare access, and economic isolation. The AEC’s map makes the pattern clear: where airports are better, communities are more connected and more resilient. Where they aren’t, people pay the price.