Nonstop flight route between Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BWH to THU:
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- About this route
- BWH Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about BWH
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to BWH
- List of Nearest Airports to BWH
- Map of Furthest Airports from BWH
- List of Furthest Airports from BWH
- 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 RMAF Butterworth (BWH), Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,755 miles (or 10,870 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 RMAF Butterworth 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 RMAF Butterworth 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: | BWH / WMKB |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 5°27'57"N by 100°23'27"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence (Malaysia) |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 8 feet (2 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BWH |
| More Information: | BWH 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 RMAF Butterworth (BWH):
- The furthest airport from RMAF Butterworth (BWH) is Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport (PIU), which is nearly antipodal to RMAF Butterworth (meaning RMAF Butterworth is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Piura, Peru.
- In addition to being known as "RMAF Butterworth", another name for BWH is "TUDM Butterworth".
- The closest airport to RMAF Butterworth (BWH) is RMAF Butterworth (UTE), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of BWH.
- Because of RMAF Butterworth's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at RMAF Butterworth 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.
- During this period, No.
- RAF Butterworth was officially opened in October 1941, as a Royal Air Force station which was a part of the British defence plan for defending the Malayan Peninsula against an imminent threat of invasion by the Imperial Japanese forces during World War II.
- RMAF Butterworth is an Air Force Station of the Royal Malaysian Air Force situated 4.5 nautical miles from Butterworth in the state of Penang, directly opposite the island itself.
- RMAF Butterworth (BWH) 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- 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 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- 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.
- Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
