Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Kotzebue, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to OTZ:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- OTZ Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about OTZ
- 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 OTZ
- List of Nearest Airports to OTZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from OTZ
- List of Furthest Airports from OTZ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ), Kotzebue, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,890 miles (or 3,041 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 Ralph Wien Memorial Airport, 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: | OTZ / PAOT |
| Airport Name: | Ralph Wien Memorial Airport |
| Location: | Kotzebue, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 66°53'4"N by 162°35'54"W |
| Area Served: | Kotzebue, Alaska |
| Operator/Owner: | Alaska DOT&PF - Northern Region |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 14 feet (4 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from OTZ |
| More Information: | OTZ Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to the base.
- After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
- 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
- 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.
- Thule Air Base has served as the regional hub for nearby installations, including Cape Atholl, Camp Century, Camp TUTO, Sites 1 and 2, P-Mountain, J-Site, North and South Mountains, and a research rocket firing site.
- 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 Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ):
- Because of Ralph Wien Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Ralph Wien Memorial 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 Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,291 miles (16,561 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ) has 2 runways.
- Ralph Wien Memorial Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile south of the central business district of Kotzebue, a city on the Baldwin Peninsula in the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S.
- The closest airport to Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ) is Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport (ORV), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) E of OTZ.
