Nonstop flight route between Butaritari Atoll, Kiribati and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BBG to THU:
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- About this route
- BBG Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about BBG
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to BBG
- List of Nearest Airports to BBG
- Map of Furthest Airports from BBG
- List of Furthest Airports from BBG
- 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 Butaritari Atoll Airport (BBG), Butaritari Atoll, Kiribati and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,450 miles (or 10,381 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 Butaritari Atoll 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 Butaritari Atoll 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: | BBG / NGTU |
Airport Name: | Butaritari Atoll Airport |
Location: | Butaritari Atoll, Kiribati |
GPS Coordinates: | 3°5'11"N by 172°48'41"E |
Elevation: | 5 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BBG |
More Information: | BBG 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 Butaritari Atoll Airport (BBG):
- The closest airport to Butaritari Atoll Airport (BBG) is Marakei Airport (MZK), which is located 78 miles (126 kilometers) SSE of BBG.
- Butaritari Atoll Airport (BBG) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Butaritari Atoll Airport (BBG) is Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), which is located 11,920 miles (19,183 kilometers) away in Cape Palmas, Liberia.
- The Americans pulled out at the end of 1944, abandoning the airfield.
- Because of Butaritari Atoll Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Butaritari Atoll 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.
- Butaritari Atoll Airport was built in Kiribati during World War II by the United States after seizing the island from the Japanese.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
- Thule is the location where the fastest recorded sea level surface wind speed in the world was measured when a peak speed of 333 kilometres per hour was recorded on 8 March 1972 prior to the instrument's destruction.
- 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.
- 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.