U.S. officials inspect former Greenland base as locals fear displacement

The shutdown of Narsarsuaq’s international airport in April led to a sharp decline in the village’s population, leaving roughly 40 residents from an earlier 150. The airport’s loss also caused the closure of the region’s largest hotel and a drop in tourist traffic. In May, U.S. Marine Corps members and embassy representatives inspected the former World War II airfield, deep-water port and other infrastructure as part of seven-month negotiations over possible new U.S. defense zones in Greenland.

Ole Guldager, a local historian and former beekeeper, expressed concern that any future U.S. military activity could result in the eviction of the remaining villagers. He recalled the 1953 expansion of the Pituffik base, during which Inuit families were moved 80 miles away, underscoring the community’s fear of a repeat of that history.