Nonstop flight route between Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BQN to THU:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- BQN Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about BQN
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to BQN
- List of Nearest Airports to BQN
- Map of Furthest Airports from BQN
- List of Furthest Airports from BQN
- 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 Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN), Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,010 miles (or 6,454 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 Rafael Hernández 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 Rafael Hernández 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: | BQN / TJBQ |
| Airport Name: | Rafael Hernández Airport |
| Location: | Aguadilla, Puerto Rico |
| GPS Coordinates: | 18°29'42"N by 67°7'45"W |
| Area Served: | Aguadilla, Puerto Rico |
| Operator/Owner: | Puerto Rico Ports Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 237 feet (72 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BQN |
| More Information: | BQN 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 Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN):
- Because of Rafael Hernández Airport's relatively low elevation of 237 feet, planes can take off or land at Rafael Hernández 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 Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Rafael Hernández Airport (meaning Rafael Hernández Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,204 miles (19,641 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) is Eugenio María de Hostos Airport (MAZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) S of BQN.
- Rafael Hernandez Airport mainly serves Puerto Rican westerners living in the Eastern Region of the United States.
- In 2000, North American Airlines reopened passenger service with a non-stop flight to New York JFK three times a week.
- There are plans to expand the road that give access to the airport.
- In late January 2011, the airport hosted sea level tests for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
- Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) currently has only 1 runway.
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.
- Originally established as a Strategic Air Command installation, Thule would periodically serve as a dispersal base for B-36 Peacemaker and B-47 Stratojet aircraft during the 1950s, as well as providing an ideal site to test the operability and maintainability of these weapon systems in extreme cold weather.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
