Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to LPA:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- LPA Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about LPA
- 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 LPA
- List of Nearest Airports to LPA
- Map of Furthest Airports from LPA
- List of Furthest Airports from LPA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Gran Canaria Airport (LPA), Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,776 miles (or 6,078 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 Gran Canaria 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 Gran Canaria 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: | LPA / GCLP |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain |
| GPS Coordinates: | 27°55'54"N by 15°23'12"W |
| Area Served: | Gran Canaria |
| Operator/Owner: | Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 78 feet (24 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from LPA |
| More Information: | LPA Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (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.
- 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
- 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.
Facts about Gran Canaria Airport (LPA):
- In 1946, the old passenger terminal opened, which took two years to build.
- Because of Gran Canaria Airport's relatively low elevation of 78 feet, planes can take off or land at Gran Canaria 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 furthest airport from Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to Gran Canaria Airport (meaning Gran Canaria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,221 miles (19,667 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
- In addition to being known as "Gran Canaria Airport", another name for LPA is "Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria".
- The airport has one terminal which opened in March 1973.
- Gran Canaria Airport handled 9,770,253 passengers last year.
- Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) has 2 runways.
- The deployment base of Gando Air Base is the Lanzarote Military Airfield.
- The closest airport to Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) is Tenerife North Airport (TFN), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) WNW of LPA.
- The airport can be reached by several island roads from all points in the island.
