Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Mbeya, Tanzania:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from THU to MBI:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- MBI Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about MBI
- 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 MBI
- List of Nearest Airports to MBI
- Map of Furthest Airports from MBI
- List of Furthest Airports from MBI
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Mbeya Airport (MBI), Mbeya, Tanzania would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,013 miles (or 11,286 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 Mbeya 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 Mbeya 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: | MBI / HTMB |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Mbeya, Tanzania |
GPS Coordinates: | 8°55'6"S by 33°27'43"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Tanzania |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5600 feet (1,707 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MBI |
More Information: | MBI 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.
- A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.
- 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.
- A delegation from NATO's Parliamentary Assembly visited Thule in early September 2010 and were told by the base commander that, at that time, approximately 600 personnel were serving at Thule, a mix of mostly U.S.
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- 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 ratification of the treaty in 1951 did not change much, except that the Danish national flag Dannebrog must be side by side with Stars and Stripes on the base.
- 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.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
Facts about Mbeya Airport (MBI):
- The closest airport to Mbeya Airport (MBI) is Karonga Airport (KGJ), which is located 77 miles (124 kilometers) SSE of MBI.
- The furthest airport from Mbeya Airport (MBI) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,553 miles (18,592 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
- In addition to being known as "Mbeya Airport", another name for MBI is "Uwanja wa Ndege wa Mbeya (Swahili)".
- Mbeya Airport (MBI) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Mbeya Airport's high elevation of 5,600 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MBI. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MBI a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.