United Air Flight Performs Mid-Air U-Turn After Greenland Airport Has Security Authorization Revoked

A United Airlines flight from Newark to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, was forced to turn around mid-flight on Tuesday afternoon after airport officials in the Danish territory admitted that their security screening for international flights did not meet regulatory requirements.

United Airlines flight UA80 departed Newark at around 11:40 am on August 26, but nearly two hours into the four-hour flight to the northernmost capital in the world, the pilots of the Boeing 737MAX jet suddenly performed a U-turn over Canada and started heading back towards New York.

The plane landed back in Newark on Tuesday afternoon, where passengers learnt that airport officials in Greenland were suspending all international flights because security screening personnel at Nuuk Airport had to undergo more training.

The flight suspension only actually began on August 27, meaning that United flight UA80 could have landed in Nuuk on Tuesday, but getting the plane back to New York could have been a major issue.

United Airlines only launched its twice-weekly summer seasonal route to Nuuk on June 14, becoming the only US carrier to fly to Greenland with a non-stop flight, and one of only a very small handful of airlines that serve the territory.

Nuuk was added to United’s network as part of its largest-ever international route expansion for the summer 2025 season. The route was only made possible by Nuuk opening a new international terminal in November 2024, and has proven to be a sleeper hit with intrepid travelers looking to get off the beaten path.

In a statement, the Greenland airport authority said that the suspension of international flights was due to the need to provide security personnel with further training on how to screen international passengers.

“We are working intensively with the Traffic Board to meet the specific conditions specified in the training,” the statement continued. “The goal is to re-establish normal operations for foreign traffic as soon as possible.”

“Greenland Airports apologizes for the inconvenience caused by the suspension, and we are working hard to restore normal operations at Nuuk Airport.”

SAS Scandinavian Airlines has also pulled its flights to Nuuk for the coming days, while Air Greenland plans to route its international flights via two alternative airports in Greenland – Kangerlussuaq (SFJ) and Narsarsuaq (UAK) – where international flight security screening is still approved.

“I was supposed to fly from Nuuk to Copenhagen tomorrow, the flight got cancelled, and now I don’t really know what to do except wait for more information,” one frustrated passenger wrote on Reddit.

“I hope that the amateurs at Greenland Airports solve this quickly. Even though Greenland is amazing, I don’t feel like staying here for much longer, as I need to return to my normal life.”

Domestic flights from Nuuk are allowed to continue, but flights to Reykjavik are counted as an international flight – a route that some passengers were counting on to get around the suspension.

Greenland Airports didn’t explain why additional training was so urgently required, although the order was made by the Danish Transport Agency, and it’s believed that the airport may have failed an audit on a spectacular level.

Bizarrely, Nuuk Airport also had its international flight security clearance revoked not long after opening its new terminal last year. Again, local officials didn’t explain the reason for suspending outbound security screening for international passengers.

Earlier this month, United’s return flight from Nuuk to Newark faced a substantial delay after security screening personnel failed to show up for work – it turned out that the annual reindeer hunting season had begun a few days prior and all the security officers were out hunting.