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 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.
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
- In the winter of 1956/57 three KC-97 tankers and alternately one of two RB-47H aircraft made polar flights to inspect Soviet defenses.
- 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.
- Thule is the location where the fastest recorded sea level surface wind speed in the world was measured when a peak speed of 333 kilometres per hour was recorded on 8 March 1972 prior to the instrument's destruction.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
Facts about Rottnest Airport (RTS):
- At one stage, the 32 km Perth to Rottnest flight was the world's shortest scheduled air route.
- MacRobertson Miller Airlines took over services after Wood's Airways using both DC-3 and Fokker F27 Friendship, until the route became uneconomical.
- The closest airport to Rottnest Airport (RTS) is Jandakot Airport (JAD), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) ESE of 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.
- Rottnest Airport (RTS) currently has only 1 runway.
