Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Galveston, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to GLS:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- GLS Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about GLS
- 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 GLS
- List of Nearest Airports to GLS
- Map of Furthest Airports from GLS
- List of Furthest Airports from GLS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS), Galveston, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,376 miles (or 5,434 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 Scholes International Airport at Galveston, 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 Scholes International Airport at Galveston. 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: | GLS / KGLS |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Galveston, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 29°15'55"N by 94°51'38"W |
| Area Served: | Galveston, Texas |
| Operator/Owner: | City of Galveston |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 6 feet (2 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GLS |
| More Information: | GLS 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.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
- 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.
- 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".
- Thule Air Base or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport, is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located 1,207 km north of the Arctic Circle and 1,524 km from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland.
Facts about Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS):
- Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS) has 2 runways.
- Because of Scholes International Airport at Galveston's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Scholes International Airport at Galveston 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.
- It was officially deactivated on November 15, 1945, with ownership reverting to the City of Galveston.
- The closest airport to Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS) is Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NW of GLS.
- The furthest airport from Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,038 miles (17,764 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
- The most frequent traffic is that of the helicopters that support the offshore oil and gas industry operating in the Gulf of Mexico.
- The Lone Star Flight Museum is located at the airport and boasts a large collection of flying antique military aircraft as well as the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame.
- The Field was primarily used for replacement crew gunnery training by the 407th Fighter-Bomber Group, with targets being towed to the gunnery range at nearby Oyster Bay.
- In addition to being known as "Scholes International Airport at Galveston", another name for GLS is "(former Galveston Army Air Field)".
- Scholes International Airport covers an area of 966 acres at an elevation of 6 feet above mean sea level.
- Light general aviation aircraft, and the occasional transient business jets can be seen at GLS.
