Nonstop flight route between Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DRW to THU:
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- About this route
- DRW Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about DRW
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to DRW
- List of Nearest Airports to DRW
- Map of Furthest Airports from DRW
- List of Furthest Airports from DRW
- 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 Darwin International Airport (DRW), Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,949 miles (or 12,793 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 Darwin 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 Darwin 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: | DRW / YPDN |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 12°24'52"S by 130°52'36"E |
| Area Served: | Darwin, Northern Territory |
| Operator/Owner: | Darwin International Airport Pty Ltd (DIA) / RAAF Darwin |
| Airport Type: | Military/Public |
| Elevation: | 103 feet (31 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from DRW |
| More Information: | DRW 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 Darwin International Airport (DRW):
- Darwin International Airport handled 1,743,734 passengers last year.
- In 2008 the Australian Infrastructure Fund, which holds 28.2% of Northern Territory Airports, announced that the airport would undergo a $60 million expansion to cater for growing passenger numbers.
- In 1945 the Department of Aviation made the existing Darwin military airfield available for civil aviation purpose.
- Darwin International Airport (DRW) has 2 runways.
- It frequently took hits from Japanese bombing through the Second World War, and was used by the Allies to project air power into the Pacific.
- During the 2009–10 financial year there was a total of 1,569,007 passengers which consisted of 207,825 international passengers and 1,361,182 domestic passengers, up 2.0%.
- In addition to being known as "Darwin International Airport", another name for DRW is "RAAF Base Darwin".
- The airport is located in Darwin, Northern Territory's northern suburbs, 13 km from the Darwin city centre, in the suburb of Marrara.
- The furthest airport from Darwin International Airport (DRW) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is located 11,867 miles (19,099 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.
- Because of Darwin International Airport's relatively low elevation of 103 feet, planes can take off or land at Darwin 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 closest airport to Darwin International Airport (DRW) is Bathurst Island Airport (BRT), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) NNW of DRW.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- 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.
- There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to the base.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
- 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.
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
