Nonstop flight route between Perak, Malaysia and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SWY to THU:
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- About this route
- SWY Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about SWY
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to SWY
- List of Nearest Airports to SWY
- Map of Furthest Airports from SWY
- List of Furthest Airports from SWY
- 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 Sitiawan Airport (SWY), Perak, Malaysia and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,842 miles (or 11,011 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 Sitiawan 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 Sitiawan 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: | SWY / WMBA |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Perak, Malaysia |
GPS Coordinates: | 4°12'59"N by 100°41'54"E |
Operator/Owner: | Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia |
Elevation: | 25 feet (8 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SWY |
More Information: | SWY 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 Sitiawan Airport (SWY):
- In addition to being known as "Sitiawan Airport", another name for SWY is "Lapangan Terbang Sitiawan".
- The closest airport to Sitiawan Airport (SWY) is Sultan Azlan Shah Airport (IPH), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) NE of SWY.
- The furthest airport from Sitiawan Airport (SWY) is Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport (LOH), which is nearly antipodal to Sitiawan Airport (meaning Sitiawan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport), and is located 12,421 miles (19,989 kilometers) away in Loja, Ecuador.
- Because of Sitiawan Airport's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Sitiawan 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.
- Sitiawan Airport (SWY) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- 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.
- 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.
- Thule Air Base has served as the regional hub for nearby installations, including Cape Atholl, Camp Century, Camp TUTO, Sites 1 and 2, P-Mountain, J-Site, North and South Mountains, and a research rocket firing site.
- After the German occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, Henrik Kauffmann Danish Ambassador to the United States, made an agreement "In the name of the king" with the United States authorizing the United States to defend the Danish colonies on Greenland from German aggression - this agreement faced Kaufmann with a charge of high treason.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- In the winter of 1956/57 three KC-97 tankers and alternately one of two RB-47H aircraft made polar flights to inspect Soviet defenses.
- 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.
- Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.