Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Islip, New York, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to ISP:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- ISP Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about ISP
- Map of Nearest Airports to THU
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- Map of Furthest Airports from THU
- List of Furthest Airports from THU
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About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP), Islip, New York, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,473 miles (or 3,979 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 relatively short distance between Thule Air Base and Long Island MacArthur Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
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: | ISP / KISP |
| Airport Name: | Long Island MacArthur Airport |
| Location: | Islip, New York, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 40°47'43"N by 73°6'1"W |
| Area Served: | Long Island, New York metro area |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 99 feet (30 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 4 |
| View all routes: | Routes from ISP |
| More Information: | ISP Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- Thule Air Base is also home to the 821st Air Base Group and is responsible for air base support within the Thule Defense Area for the multinational population of "Team Thule." The base hosts the 12th Space Warning Squadron which operates a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System designed to detect and track ICBMs launched against North America.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- 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.
- 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 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- 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.
- 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.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
Facts about Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP):
- Located between Montauk Point 67 miles to the east and Manhattan 44 miles to the west, MacArthur Airport serves the three million residents of Nassau and Suffolk counties and travelers who want an alternative to the congestion at JFK and LaGuardia airports – both in Queens.
- It is also home to Civil Air Patrol's Long Island Group's Suffolk Cadet Sqdn 10.
- The closest airport to Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) is Long Island MacArthur Airport (HAP), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of ISP.
- Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) has 4 runways.
- Because of Long Island MacArthur Airport's relatively low elevation of 99 feet, planes can take off or land at Long Island MacArthur 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.
- In April 1942, four months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Town of Islip contracted with the federal government to build an airfield on Town-owned land for military use.
- Following the September 11, 2001 attacks MacArthur Airport saw a 25 percent drop in passenger traffic but rebounded until 2006 when numbers began to drop again.
- The furthest airport from Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,783 miles (18,963 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
