Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from LGW to THU:
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- About this route
- LGW Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about LGW
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to LGW
- List of Nearest Airports to LGW
- Map of Furthest Airports from LGW
- List of Furthest Airports from LGW
- 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 Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,475 miles (or 3,983 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 relatively short distance between Gatwick Airport and Thule Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | LGW / EGKK |
| Airport Name: | Gatwick Airport |
| Location: | London, England, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 51°8'53"N by 0°11'25"W |
| Area Served: | London, United Kingdom |
| Operator/Owner: | Global Infrastructure Partners |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 203 feet (62 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from LGW |
| More Information: | LGW 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 Gatwick Airport (LGW):
- The third extension to Gatwick's runway was completed in 1973, bringing it to 10,165 ft and allowing for non-stop narrow-body operations to the US west coast and commercially viable, long-range wide-body operations.Wardair became the first airline to operate Boeing 747s at Gatwick.KLM augmented its Heathrow–Amsterdam service with a Gatwick–Amsterdam route, making it the first non-UK airline to split operations between Heathrow and Gatwick for commercial reasons rather than to comply with government directives.
- Because of Gatwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 203 feet, planes can take off or land at Gatwick 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 Redwing Aircraft Company bought the aerodrome in 1932, and operated a flying school.
- In July 1952, the British government confirmed that the airport would be renovated, primarily for aircraft diverted from Heathrow in bad weather.
- Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
- On 9 April 1965, a BUA One-Eleven operated the type's first commercial service from Gatwick to Genoa.
- The furthest airport from Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,901 miles (19,152 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- 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 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.
- 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.
- A delegation from NATO's Parliamentary Assembly visited Thule in early September 2010 and were told by the base commander that, at that time, approximately 600 personnel were serving at Thule, a mix of mostly U.S.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
