Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Catania, Sicily, Italy:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to CTA:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- CTA Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about CTA
- 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 CTA
- List of Nearest Airports to CTA
- Map of Furthest Airports from CTA
- List of Furthest Airports from CTA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), Catania, Sicily, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,613 miles (or 5,815 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 Catania–Fontanarossa 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 Catania–Fontanarossa 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: | CTA / LICC |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Catania, Sicily, Italy |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°28'0"N by 15°3'50"E |
Operator/Owner: | SAC |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 39 feet (12 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CTA |
More Information: | CTA Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- A delegation from NATO's Parliamentary Assembly visited Thule in early September 2010 and were told by the base commander that, at that time, approximately 600 personnel were serving at Thule, a mix of mostly U.S.
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
Facts about Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA):
- After 20 years of unexpected growth and high passengers levels, in 1981 it was once again necessary to restructure the airport to cope with demand.
- Catania–Fontanarossa Airport handled 6,400,127 passengers last year.
- Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) currently has only 1 runway.
- Ryanair started to fly to Catania in 2013 but announced only one route to Catania while also starting operations with 3 routes to Comiso Airport, a newly opened in 2013 Airport only a few km to the south of Catania.
- Because of Catania–Fontanarossa Airport's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Catania–Fontanarossa 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 closest airport to Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) is Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) WSW of CTA.
- In addition to being known as "Catania–Fontanarossa Airport", other names for CTA include "Catania Vincenzo Bellini Airport" and "Aeroporto di Catania-Fontanarossa".
- By the late 1940s, it was clear that the airport was fast running out of space and it was deemed necessary to relocate and in 1950, the new bigger and improved Catania Airport opened for business.
- The furthest airport from Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,692 miles (18,816 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.