Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from HOU to THU:
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- About this route
- HOU Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about HOU
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to HOU
- List of Nearest Airports to HOU
- Map of Furthest Airports from HOU
- List of Furthest Airports from HOU
- 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 William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), Houston, Texas, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,354 miles (or 5,398 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 William P. Hobby 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 William P. Hobby 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: | HOU / KHOU |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Houston, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 29°38'44"N by 95°16'44"W |
| Area Served: | Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land |
| Operator/Owner: | City of Houston |
| Elevation: | 46 feet (14 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 4 |
| View all routes: | Routes from HOU |
| More Information: | HOU 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 William P. Hobby Airport (HOU):
- William P. Hobby Airport handled 9,054,001 passengers last year.
- In addition to being known as "William P. Hobby Airport", another name for HOU is "Houston Hobby".
- The furthest airport from William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,002 miles (17,706 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- In a survey among travelers in the United States by J.D.
- William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) has 4 runways.
- The terminal includes an interfaith chapel.
- The city of Houston opened and dedicated a new air terminal and hangar in 1940.
- Houston is a focus city for Southwest Airlines, and was the seventh-largest city in Southwest's network as of 2013.
- The closest airport to William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of HOU.
- TranStar Airlines corporate headquarters were at the airport.
- Because of William P. Hobby Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at William P. Hobby 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.
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.
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- In 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
