Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Riberalta, Bolivia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from THU to RIB:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- RIB Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about RIB
- 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 RIB
- List of Nearest Airports to RIB
- Map of Furthest Airports from RIB
- List of Furthest Airports from RIB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Riberalta Airport (RIB), Riberalta, Bolivia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,050 miles (or 9,736 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 Riberalta 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 Riberalta 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: |
|
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: | RIB / SLRI |
Airport Name: | Riberalta Airport |
Location: | Riberalta, Bolivia |
GPS Coordinates: | 11°1'0"S by 66°7'0"W |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 462 feet (141 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from RIB |
More Information: | RIB Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- 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.
Facts about Riberalta Airport (RIB):
- The closest airport to Riberalta Airport (RIB) is Guayaramerín Airport (GYA), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) ENE of RIB.
- The furthest airport from Riberalta Airport (RIB) is Cam Ranh International Airport (CXR), which is nearly antipodal to Riberalta Airport (meaning Riberalta Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cam Ranh International Airport), and is located 12,114 miles (19,495 kilometers) away in Cam Ranh, Khánh Hòa, Vietnam.
- Riberalta Airport (RIB) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Riberalta Airport's relatively low elevation of 462 feet, planes can take off or land at Riberalta 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.