Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Nairobi, Kenya:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to NBO:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- NBO Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about NBO
- 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 NBO
- List of Nearest Airports to NBO
- Map of Furthest Airports from NBO
- List of Furthest Airports from NBO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), Nairobi, Kenya would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,556 miles (or 10,550 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 Jomo Kenyatta 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 Jomo Kenyatta 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: |
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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: | NBO / HKJK |
| Airport Name: | Jomo Kenyatta International Airport |
| Location: | Nairobi, Kenya |
| GPS Coordinates: | 1°19'6"S by 36°55'32"E |
| Area Served: | Nairobi |
| Operator/Owner: | Kenya Airports Authority |
| Airport Type: | Joint (Civil and Military) |
| Elevation: | 5327 feet (1,624 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from NBO |
| More Information: | NBO Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
- 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.
Facts about Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO):
- On 5 August 2013, an airlock in the main pipeline that delivers jet fuel to the airport caused all inbound flights to the airport to be diverted to other airfields.
- Traffic at the airport grows at a rate of 12 percent per annum and is expected to hit the 25 million mark by 2025.
- The furthest airport from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,621 miles (18,703 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
- Because of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport's high elevation of 5,327 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at NBO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make NBO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) is Wilson Airport (WIL), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) W of NBO.
- Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) currently has only 1 runway.
- Jomo Kenyatta International Airport handled 580,363 passengers last year.
- After Kenya's independence in 1964, the airport was renamed Nairobi International Airport to more accurately reflect the city it served.
- An addition to the existing terminal building, Unit 4, is under construction at a cost of 9.4 billion Kenyan shillings and is slated to open in 2013.
