International flights suspended at Greenland's Nuuk airport

International departures have been temporarily suspended at Greenland's Nuuk airport, the Danish transport ministry said on Wednesday, less than a year after a new runway opened to accommodate long-haul flights.

The new runway opened in November last year, allowing larger planes to land and take off and ending reliance on travellers having to fly via Iceland.

There is now a direct flight to New York twice a week.

But according to operator Greenland Airports' schedule, Wednesday's 9:00 am (0800 GMT) flight to the US city and another heading to Billund in Denmark at 11:50 am were cancelled.

Anders Windfeldt, from the Danish transport ministry, told AFP that ongoing training of staff responsible for monitoring international passengers does not fully meet requirements.

"We have issued Greenland Airports an injunction to comply with aviation safety rules at Nuuk Airport, where we have identified a number of insufficient safety measures," he added.

International departures were "temporarily suspended until security personnel receive the necessary training and the airport is fully capable of adhering to its own procedures and security plan", he added.

Domestic flights in Greenland were unaffected, the ministry said.

Greenland Airports now has to inform the ministry when the security of the airport can once again be guaranteed, said Windfeldt.

"Passengers concerned will be contacted directly by their airline with practical information and any changes to their itinerary," the airport's operator said.