Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Brest, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to BES:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- BES Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about BES
- 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 BES
- List of Nearest Airports to BES
- Map of Furthest Airports from BES
- List of Furthest Airports from BES
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Brest Bretagne Airport (BES), Brest, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,582 miles (or 4,155 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 Brest Bretagne 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 Brest Bretagne 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: | BES / LFRB |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Brest, France |
| GPS Coordinates: | 48°26'49"N by 4°25'18"W |
| Area Served: | Brest, France |
| Operator/Owner: | Chamber of Commerce |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 325 feet (99 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BES |
| More Information: | BES Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (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.
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Brest Bretagne Airport (BES):
- Brest Bretagne Airport (BES) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Brest Bretagne Airport (BES) is Morlaix - Ploujean Airport (MXN), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) ENE of BES.
- In addition to being known as "Brest Bretagne Airport", another name for BES is "Aéroport de Brest Bretagne".
- Though the main operator is Air France, serving for the most part Paris and Lyon, other scheduled services are offered elsewhere in France and to the UK.
- The furthest airport from Brest Bretagne Airport (BES) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to Brest Bretagne Airport (meaning Brest Bretagne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,130 miles (19,522 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- Because of Brest Bretagne Airport's relatively low elevation of 325 feet, planes can take off or land at Brest Bretagne 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.
