Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Sion, Switzerland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to SIR:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- SIR Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about SIR
- 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 SIR
- List of Nearest Airports to SIR
- Map of Furthest Airports from SIR
- List of Furthest Airports from SIR
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Sion Airport (SIR), Sion, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,914 miles (or 4,690 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 Sion 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 Sion 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: | SIR / LSGS |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Sion, Switzerland |
| GPS Coordinates: | 46°13'10"N by 7°19'36"E |
| Area Served: | Sion, Switzerland |
| Elevation: | 1585 feet (483 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SIR |
| More Information: | SIR Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- Thule Air Base is the U.S.
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- A delegation from NATO's Parliamentary Assembly visited Thule in early September 2010 and were told by the base commander that, at that time, approximately 600 personnel were serving at Thule, a mix of mostly U.S.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport, is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located 1,207 km north of the Arctic Circle and 1,524 km from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland.
- 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 Sion Airport (SIR):
- The furthest airport from Sion Airport (SIR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Sion Airport (meaning Sion Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,188 miles (19,615 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The closest airport to Sion Airport (SIR) is Aosta Valley Airport (AOT), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) S of SIR.
- Sion Airport (SIR) has 2 runways.
- In addition to being known as "Sion Airport", other names for SIR include "Aéroport de Sion" and "LSGS /LSMS".
