Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from IWS to THU:
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- About this route
- IWS Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about IWS
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to IWS
- List of Nearest Airports to IWS
- Map of Furthest Airports from IWS
- List of Furthest Airports from IWS
- 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 West Houston Airport (IWS), Houston, Texas, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,345 miles (or 5,384 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 West Houston 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 West Houston 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: | IWS / KIWS |
| Airport Name: | West Houston Airport |
| Location: | Houston, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 29°49'5"N by 95°40'20"W |
| Area Served: | Houston, Texas |
| Operator/Owner: | West Houston Airport Corp. |
| Airport Type: | Public use |
| Elevation: | 111 feet (34 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from IWS |
| More Information: | IWS 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 West Houston Airport (IWS):
- The new sign at the entrance
- Because of West Houston Airport's relatively low elevation of 111 feet, planes can take off or land at West Houston 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.
- West Houston Airport offers a variety of services, including a VIP lounge with free Wi-Fi, hangars, and airplane covers.
- Landing at the airport is free, except for helicopters, where the fee is waived if the customer buys gasoline.
- West Houston Airport (IWS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from West Houston Airport (IWS) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,979 miles (17,668 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- West Houston Airport is a privately owned, public use use airport in Harris County, Texas, United States.
- The closest airport to West Houston Airport (IWS) is Andrau Airpark (AAP), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) SE of IWS.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
- 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.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- 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 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- 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.
