Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Aspen, Colorado, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to ASE:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- ASE Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about ASE
- Map of Nearest Airports to THU
- List of Nearest Airports to THU
- Map of Furthest Airports from THU
- List of Furthest Airports from THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to ASE
- List of Nearest Airports to ASE
- Map of Furthest Airports from ASE
- List of Furthest Airports from ASE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE), Aspen, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,820 miles (or 4,538 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 Thule Air Base and Aspen–Pitkin County Airport, 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 Thule Air Base and Aspen–Pitkin County Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure 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 |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | ASE / KASE |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Aspen, Colorado, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 39°13'23"N by 106°52'8"W |
| Area Served: | Aspen, Colorado |
| Operator/Owner: | Pitkin County |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 7820 feet (2,384 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from ASE |
| More Information: | ASE Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- 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 AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- On 21 January 1968, a B-52G Stratofortress from the 380th Strategic Aerospace Wing, Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York on a secret airborne nuclear alert crashed and burned on the ice near Thule Air Base.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
Facts about Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE):
- On April 4, 2011, the airport began a $15.5 million runway extension project which added 1,000 feet of runway length to the existing 7,006' long runway.
- Because of Aspen–Pitkin County Airport's high elevation of 7,820 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ASE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ASE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,971 miles (17,657 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Historically, the airport was served by a number of airlines over the years including Aspen Airways which introduced the first scheduled passenger jet service into Aspen.
- Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The Aspen–Pitkin County Airport is certificated as a Class I, ARFF Index B commercial service airport under FAR Part 139.
- The closest airport to Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE) is Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) N of ASE.
- In addition to being known as "Aspen–Pitkin County Airport", another name for ASE is "Sardy Field".
- One of the potential improvements included in the 2012 Updated Master Plan is the construction of a new airport terminal.
- More recently, Lynx Aviation flying on behalf of Frontier Airlines operated Bombardier Q400 turboprops into Aspen.
