Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from IAH to THU:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- IAH Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about IAH
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to IAH
- List of Nearest Airports to IAH
- Map of Furthest Airports from IAH
- List of Furthest Airports from IAH
- 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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Houston, Texas, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,331 miles (or 5,361 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 George Bush Intercontinental 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 George Bush Intercontinental 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: | IAH / KIAH |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Houston, Texas, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°59'3"N by 95°20'29"W |
Area Served: | Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land |
Operator/Owner: | City of Houston |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 5 |
View all routes: | Routes from IAH |
More Information: | IAH Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | THU / BGTL |
Airport Names: |
|
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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH):
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) has 5 runways.
- Terminal D opened in 1990 as the International Arrivals Building and was later renamed the Mickey Leland International Arrivals Building.
- Terminal A was one of the original two terminals to open in 1969 and was designed by Goleman & Rolfe and George Pierce-Abel B.
- In December 2009 the Houston City Council approved a plan to allow Midway Cos.
- The site for Bush Intercontinental Airport was originally purchased by a group of Houston businessmen in 1957 to preserve the site until the city of Houston could formulate a plan for a second airport, supplanting what was then known as Houston Municipal Airport.
- The airport has a total of five terminals encompassing 250 acres., with a 1.5-mile distance from Terminal A to Terminal D.
- Houston Intercontinental had been scheduled to open in 1967, but design changes regarding the terminals created cost overruns and construction delays.
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport handled 40,128,953 passengers last year.
- In addition to being known as "George Bush Intercontinental Airport", another name for IAH is "Houston-Intercontinental".
- Because of George Bush Intercontinental Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at George Bush Intercontinental 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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of IAH.
- The furthest airport from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,981 miles (17,672 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- As of 2007, Terminals A and B remain from the original design of the airport.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.
- Originally established as a Strategic Air Command installation, Thule would periodically serve as a dispersal base for B-36 Peacemaker and B-47 Stratojet aircraft during the 1950s, as well as providing an ideal site to test the operability and maintainability of these weapon systems in extreme cold weather.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- The Pentagon maintained that all four weapons had been destroyed.
- 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 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
- The ratification of the treaty in 1951 did not change much, except that the Danish national flag Dannebrog must be side by side with Stars and Stripes on the base.
- 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 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.