Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to RTS:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- RTS Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about RTS
- 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 RTS
- List of Nearest Airports to RTS
- Map of Furthest Airports from RTS
- List of Furthest Airports from RTS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Rottnest Airport (RTS), Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,357 miles (or 15,059 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 Rottnest 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 Rottnest 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: | RTS / YRTI |
| Airport Name: | Rottnest Airport |
| Location: | Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Australia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 32°0'24"S by 115°32'22"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Rottnest Island Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 12 feet (4 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from RTS |
| More Information: | RTS Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
- 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.
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- Late 1950s the DEW 1 to 4 where build as "weather stations", Thule Air Base would act as an supply station for the DYE bases.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- Thule Air Base is home to the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
Facts about Rottnest Airport (RTS):
- The furthest airport from Rottnest Airport (RTS) is L.F. Wade International Airport (BDA), which is nearly antipodal to Rottnest Airport (meaning Rottnest Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from L.F. Wade International Airport), and is located 12,409 miles (19,970 kilometers) away in Ferry Reach (near Hamilton), Bermuda.
- Because of Rottnest Airport's relatively low elevation of 12 feet, planes can take off or land at Rottnest 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.
- Woods Airways which was run by pioneer aviator Jimmy Woods, operated the Perth to Rottnest service from about 1948 with two war-surplus Royal Australian Air Force Avro Anson aircraft.
- Rottnest Airport (RTS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Rottnest Airport (RTS) is Jandakot Airport (JAD), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) ESE of RTS.
