Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Sibu, Malaysia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to SBW:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- SBW Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about SBW
- 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 SBW
- List of Nearest Airports to SBW
- Map of Furthest Airports from SBW
- List of Furthest Airports from SBW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Sibu Airport (SBW), Sibu, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,993 miles (or 11,253 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 Sibu 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 Sibu 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: | SBW / |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Sibu, Malaysia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 2°15'51"N by 111°58'57"E |
| Area Served: | Bintangor, Sarikei, Kapit, and Sibu, Sarawak, East Malaysia |
| Operator/Owner: | Government of Malaysia |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 122 feet (37 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SBW |
| More Information: | SBW Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (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 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.
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- 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 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 closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- 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.
- The ratification of the treaty in 1951 did not change much, except that the Danish national flag Dannebrog must be side by side with Stars and Stripes on the base.
Facts about Sibu Airport (SBW):
- The airport underwent an expansion project that involved upgrading of the terminal building, car park and the addition of more aerobridges.
- Sibu Airport handled 1,383,887 passengers last year.
- In addition to being known as "Sibu Airport", other names for SBW include "Lapangan Terbang Sibu", "诗巫机场" and "WBGS".
- On that remarkably historical night, the air traffic clearance "Clear to land" was issued from the Sibu Air Traffic Control Tower on the assigned frequency 122.6 MHZ to the first Boeing 737-500 to land on the asphalt surface of the designated runway 13.
- Because of Sibu Airport's relatively low elevation of 122 feet, planes can take off or land at Sibu 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 first airport in Sibu was built in Teku, during World War II by the Japanese as a basic air strip.
- The closest airport to Sibu Airport (SBW) is Mukah Airport (MKM), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) N of SBW.
- Sibu Airport is an airport located 23 km east south east of Sibu, a town in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia.
- The furthest airport from Sibu Airport (SBW) is Ipiranga Airport (IPG), which is nearly antipodal to Sibu Airport (meaning Sibu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ipiranga Airport), and is located 12,312 miles (19,814 kilometers) away in Santo Antônio do Içá, Amazonas, Brazil.
- Sibu Airport (SBW) currently has only 1 runway.
