Nonstop flight route between Fort Myers, Florida, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from RSW to THU:
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- About this route
- RSW Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about RSW
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to RSW
- List of Nearest Airports to RSW
- Map of Furthest Airports from RSW
- List of Furthest Airports from RSW
- 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 Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW), Fort Myers, Florida, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,482 miles (or 5,604 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 Southwest Florida 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 Southwest Florida 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: | RSW / KRSW |
Airport Name: | Southwest Florida International Airport |
Location: | Fort Myers, Florida, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 26°32'9"N by 81°45'19"W |
Area Served: | Fort Myers, Florida |
Operator/Owner: | Lee County |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 30 feet (9 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RSW |
More Information: | RSW 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 Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW):
- The closest airport to Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) is Page Field (FMY), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of RSW.
- Southwest Florida International Airport handled 7,637,801 passengers last year.
- For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2011, the airport had 83,385 aircraft operations, an average of 228 per day.
- Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) currently has only 1 runway.
- The airport was renamed Southwest Florida International Airport in 1993, though it had hosted international flights since 1984 and U.S.
- Because of Southwest Florida International Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Southwest Florida 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 furthest airport from Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,486 miles (18,485 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Thule Air Base (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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- 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.
- 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.
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
- In 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.