Nonstop flight route between Maripasoula, French Guiana and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MPY to THU:
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- About this route
- MPY Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about MPY
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to MPY
- List of Nearest Airports to MPY
- Map of Furthest Airports from MPY
- List of Furthest Airports from MPY
- 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 Maripasoula Airport (MPY), Maripasoula, French Guiana and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,066 miles (or 8,154 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 Maripasoula 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 Maripasoula 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: | MPY / SOOA |
| Airport Name: | Maripasoula Airport |
| Location: | Maripasoula, French Guiana |
| GPS Coordinates: | 3°39'27"N by 54°2'13"W |
| Area Served: | Maripasoula, French Guiana |
| Operator/Owner: | Conseil Général de la Guyane |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 377 feet (115 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from MPY |
| More Information: | MPY 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 Maripasoula Airport (MPY):
- The closest airport to Maripasoula Airport (MPY) is Drietabbetje Airstrip (DRJ), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) NW of MPY.
- Maripasoula Airport (MPY) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Maripasoula Airport's relatively low elevation of 377 feet, planes can take off or land at Maripasoula 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 Maripasoula Airport (MPY) is Namrole Airport (NRE), which is nearly antipodal to Maripasoula Airport (meaning Maripasoula Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Namrole Airport), and is located 12,384 miles (19,930 kilometers) away in Buru, Indonesia.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
- In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main 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.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- Thule Air Base is the U.S.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
