Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Kandahar, Afghanistan:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to KDH:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- KDH Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about KDH
- 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 KDH
- List of Nearest Airports to KDH
- Map of Furthest Airports from KDH
- List of Furthest Airports from KDH
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Kabul International Airport (KDH), Kandahar, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,723 miles (or 7,600 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 Kabul International 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 Kabul International 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: |
|
| 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: | KDH / OAKN |
| Airport Names: |
|
| Location: | Kandahar, Afghanistan |
| GPS Coordinates: | 31°30'25"N by 65°51'1"E |
| Area Served: | Southern Afghanistan |
| Operator/Owner: | Afghanistan |
| Airport Type: | Public/Military |
| Elevation: | 3330 feet (1,015 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from KDH |
| More Information: | KDH Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- Late 1950s the DEW 1 to 4 where build as "weather stations", Thule Air Base would act as an supply station for the DYE bases.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
- Thule is the location where the fastest recorded sea level surface wind speed in the world was measured when a peak speed of 333 kilometres per hour was recorded on 8 March 1972 prior to the instrument's destruction.
- 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.
- Thule Air Base is the U.S.
Facts about Kabul International Airport (KDH):
- The closest airport to Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Tarin Kowt Airport (TII), which is located 76 miles (123 kilometers) N of KDH.
- The furthest airport from Kabul International Airport (KDH) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is nearly antipodal to Kabul International Airport (meaning Kabul International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mataveri International Airport), and is located 12,023 miles (19,349 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
- Kabul International Airport (KDH) currently has only 1 runway.
- Eight General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon close air support fighters of the Royal Netherlands Air Force were deployed to Kandahar Airfield to support the expanded NATO operation in southern Afghanistan in late 2006.
- During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the airfield was used intensively by the Soviet Air Forces, both as logistical facility for flying in troops and supplies and as a base for launching airstrikes against local Mujahideen groups.
- Major battles between the Taliban and local anti-Taliban forces had been fought at the airport just days earlier, and when coalition troops arrived there were abandoned weapons - including a BM-21 still loaded with rockets - scattered around the terminal.
- Since the airport was designed as a military base, it is likely that the United States intended to use it in case there was a show-down of war between the United States and former USSR.
- In July 2007, the post of Commander, Kandahar Airfield was created as a NATO appointment which, until recently, has been held by an officer of the Royal Air Force of OF-6 rank.
- In addition to being known as "Kabul International Airport", other names for KDH include "Kandahar International Airport (Kandahar)" and "میدان هوایی بین المللی کندهار".
- Reconstruction and Canadian deployments
