Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Leeuwarden, Netherlands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to LWR:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- LWR Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about LWR
- 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 LWR
- List of Nearest Airports to LWR
- Map of Furthest Airports from LWR
- List of Furthest Airports from LWR
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR), Leeuwarden, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,438 miles (or 3,923 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 Leeuwarden Air Base, 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: | LWR / EHLW |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Leeuwarden, Netherlands |
| GPS Coordinates: | 53°13'42"N by 5°45'38"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Military of the Netherlands |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 3 feet (1 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from LWR |
| More Information: | LWR Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- 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.
- 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 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
Facts about Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR):
- Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR) has 2 runways.
- In 2016 a squadron of MQ-9 Reapers will be based at Leeuwarden Air Base to be fully operational as of 2017.
- After the liberation of the Netherlands, the airbase was repaired.
- In addition to being known as "Leeuwarden Air Base", another name for LWR is "Vliegbasis Leeuwarden".
- The furthest airport from Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,778 miles (18,955 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The closest airport to Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR) is Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) ESE of LWR.
- Because of Leeuwarden Air Base's relatively low elevation of 3 feet, planes can take off or land at Leeuwarden Air Base 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 airport of Leeuwarden was built in 1938, and originally was used as an airport between Schiphol – Eelde.
