Nonstop flight route between Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SCS to THU:
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- About this route
- SCS Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about SCS
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to SCS
- List of Nearest Airports to SCS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SCS
- List of Furthest Airports from SCS
- 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 Scatsta Airport (SCS), Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,874 miles (or 3,016 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 Scatsta 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: | SCS / EGPM |
| Airport Name: | Scatsta Airport |
| Location: | Shetland Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| GPS Coordinates: | 60°25'58"N by 1°17'45"W |
| Area Served: | Shetland |
| Operator/Owner: | Serco UK and Europe on behalf of BP |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 81 feet (25 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SCS |
| More Information: | SCS 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 Scatsta Airport (SCS):
- Because of Scatsta Airport's relatively low elevation of 81 feet, planes can take off or land at Scatsta 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.
- In November 1944 Scatsta was used as a support base and diversion point for Lancasters from squadron 617, the famous "Dam Busters", led by Wing Commander J.
- Scatsta Airport (SCS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The airport was first developed in 1940 as RAF Scatsta, a Royal Air Force fighter plane base to support Coastal Command flying boat operations at RAF Sullom Voe, and was the most northerly base in the British Isles.
- The closest airport to Scatsta Airport (SCS) is Tingwall Airport (LWK), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) S of SCS.
- It was abandoned after World War II, but reinstated as a civilian airport in 1978 to support the Shetland oil industry, and the Sullom Voe oil terminal in particular.
- The first flight of the day from Scatsta to Aberdeen has no passengers from offshore – and can have anything up to about 60 passengers during the height of the season, although the figure is more commonly between 15 and 25 on an average day.
- The furthest airport from Scatsta Airport (SCS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,409 miles (18,361 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
