Nonstop flight route between Durango, Colorado, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DRO to THU:
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- About this route
- DRO Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about DRO
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to DRO
- List of Nearest Airports to DRO
- Map of Furthest Airports from DRO
- List of Furthest Airports from DRO
- 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 Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO), Durango, Colorado, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,970 miles (or 4,780 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 Durango–La Plata County 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 Durango–La Plata County 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: | DRO / KDRO |
| Airport Name: | Durango–La Plata County Airport |
| Location: | Durango, Colorado, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 37°9'5"N by 107°45'14"W |
| Area Served: | Durango, Colorado |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 6685 feet (2,038 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from DRO |
| More Information: | DRO 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 Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO):
- Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO) is Animas Air Park (AMK), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of DRO.
- Because of Durango–La Plata County Airport's high elevation of 6,685 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DRO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DRO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Several airlines flew mainline jets to Durango.
- The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.Federal Aviation Administration records say it had 134,386 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 148,077 in 2009 and 163,611 in 2010.
- The furthest airport from Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,121 miles (17,897 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
