Nonstop flight route between Washington, D.C. / Virginia, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from IAD to THU:
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- About this route
- IAD Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about IAD
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to IAD
- List of Nearest Airports to IAD
- Map of Furthest Airports from IAD
- List of Furthest Airports from IAD
- 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 Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Washington, D.C. / Virginia, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,611 miles (or 4,201 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 Washington Dulles 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 Washington Dulles 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: | IAD / KIAD |
| Airport Name: | Washington Dulles International Airport |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. / Virginia, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 38°56'39"N by 77°27'20"W |
| Area Served: | Washington metropolitan area |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 313 feet (95 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 5 |
| View all routes: | Routes from IAD |
| More Information: | IAD 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 Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD):
- Under the development plan, future phases would see the addition of several new midfield concourses and a new south terminal.
- Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) has 5 runways.
- United Airlines maintains one of two East Coast hubs at Dulles which handled 56.7% of scheduled air carrier passengers at the airport.JetBlue handled 6.8% of scheduled air carrier passengers.
- Because of Washington Dulles International Airport's relatively low elevation of 313 feet, planes can take off or land at Washington Dulles 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 furthest airport from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,659 miles (18,763 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Concourse A consists of a permanent ground level set of gates designed for small planes such as regional jets and several former B concourse gates.
- The closest airport to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NNW of IAD.
- As of 2012, the only Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority service to Dulles is the "Express" 5A Metrobus route.
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 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.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
