Nonstop flight route between Port Elizabeth, South Africa and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PLZ to THU:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- PLZ Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about PLZ
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to PLZ
- List of Nearest Airports to PLZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from PLZ
- List of Furthest Airports from PLZ
- Map of Nearest Airports to THU
- List of Nearest Airports to THU
- Map of Furthest Airports from THU
- List of Furthest Airports from THU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), Port Elizabeth, South Africa and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,562 miles (or 13,780 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Port Elizabeth International Airport and Thule Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.
Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Port Elizabeth International Airport and Thule Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PLZ / FAPE |
Airport Name: | Port Elizabeth International Airport |
Location: | Port Elizabeth, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°59'4"S by 25°36'37"E |
Area Served: | Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 226 feet (69 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from PLZ |
More Information: | PLZ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | THU / BGTL |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Pituffik, Greenland |
GPS Coordinates: | 76°31'51"N by 68°42'11"W |
View all routes: | Routes from THU |
More Information: | THU Maps & Info |
Facts about Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ):
- Because of Port Elizabeth International Airport's relatively low elevation of 226 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Elizabeth International Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- The closest airport to Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 79 miles (127 kilometers) ENE of PLZ.
- Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) has 2 runways.
- Air Force Station Port Elizabeth is home to C Flight of 15 Squadron of the South African Air Force.
- A highlight in Port Elizabeth's history was the first flight to Port Elizabeth from Cape Town in 1917, made by Major Allister Mackintosh Miller.
- Port Elizabeth International Airport is an airport serving Port Elizabeth, a city in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa.
- 1 February 2008 - King Abdullah II of Jordan's Airbus A340-200 landed at Port Elizabeth as he makes his way down the Garden Route to Cape Town on a Harley-Davidson motorbike.
- These facilities served the community till 2000 when plans for a major terminal upgrade was drawn-up.
- August 1998 - A South African Airways Boeing 747-400 landed at Port Elizabeth Airport to be officially named 'Ibayhi' the Xhosa word for Port Elizabeth.
- The furthest airport from Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,567 miles (18,615 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
- Construction of the permanent terminal buildings, runways and an air traffic control building began in 1950.
- June, 2010 - South African Airways operated an Airbus A340-200 to Port Elizabeth to help manage the extra volume of people during the FIFA World Cup 2010.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
- The furthest airport from Thule Air Base (THU) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 9,883 miles (15,905 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- In the winter of 1956/57 three KC-97 tankers and alternately one of two RB-47H aircraft made polar flights to inspect Soviet defenses.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- Late 1950s the DEW 1 to 4 where build as "weather stations", Thule Air Base would act as an supply station for the DYE bases.
- Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
- Thule Air Base is home to the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command.