Nonstop flight route between Reykjavík, Iceland and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RKV to THU:
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- About this route
- RKV Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about RKV
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to RKV
- List of Nearest Airports to RKV
- Map of Furthest Airports from RKV
- List of Furthest Airports from RKV
- 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 Reykjavík Airport (RKV), Reykjavík, Iceland and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,323 miles (or 2,129 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 relatively short distance between Reykjavík Airport and Thule Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RKV / BIRK |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Reykjavík, Iceland |
GPS Coordinates: | 64°7'47"N by 21°56'26"W |
Area Served: | Reykjavík |
Operator/Owner: | Isavia |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 45 feet (14 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from RKV |
More Information: | RKV Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | THU / BGTL |
Airport Names: |
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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 Reykjavík Airport (RKV):
- Because of Reykjavík Airport's relatively low elevation of 45 feet, planes can take off or land at Reykjavík 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 Reykjavík Airport (RKV) is Keflavík International Airport (KEF), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) WSW of RKV.
- After renovation, the width of runways 01/19 and 13/31 is 45 m and 06/24 30m, with visual approach for runways 01 and 31, while runway 19 has ILS CAT I/NBD-DME approach and runway 13 has LLZ-DME/NDB-DME approach.
- In addition to being known as "Reykjavík Airport", other names for RKV include "Reykjavík Domestic Airport" and "Reykjavíkurflugvöllur".
- Reykjavík Airport is the chiefly domestic airport serving Reykjavík, Iceland, is one and a quarter miles from the city centre.
- Reykjavík Airport (RKV) has 3 runways.
- Reykjavík Airport handled 430,316 passengers last year.
- The furthest airport from Reykjavík Airport (RKV) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,187 miles (18,003 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- Thule Air Base or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport, is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located 1,207 km north of the Arctic Circle and 1,524 km from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland.
- 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.
- After the German occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, Henrik Kauffmann Danish Ambassador to the United States, made an agreement "In the name of the king" with the United States authorizing the United States to defend the Danish colonies on Greenland from German aggression - this agreement faced Kaufmann with a charge of high treason.
- In 1957 construction began on 4 Nike Missile sites around the base, and they and their radar systems were operational by the end of 1958.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- 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.
- Thule Air Base is also home to the 821st Air Base Group and is responsible for air base support within the Thule Defense Area for the multinational population of "Team Thule." The base hosts the 12th Space Warning Squadron which operates a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System designed to detect and track ICBMs launched against North America.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".