Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to SMV:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- SMV Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about SMV
- 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 SMV
- List of Nearest Airports to SMV
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMV
- List of Furthest Airports from SMV
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Samedan Airport (SMV), St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,935 miles (or 4,723 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 Samedan 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 Samedan 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: | SMV / LSZS |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland |
| GPS Coordinates: | 46°32'2"N by 9°53'2"E |
| Area Served: | St. Moritz, Switzerland |
| Airport Type: | Public and military |
| Elevation: | 5600 feet (1,707 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SMV |
| More Information: | SMV Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- 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.
- In 1957 construction began on 4 Nike Missile sites around the base, and they and their radar systems were operational by the end of 1958.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
- A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- Thule Air Base is also home to the 821st Air Base Group and is responsible for air base support within the Thule Defense Area for the multinational population of "Team Thule." The base hosts the 12th Space Warning Squadron which operates a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System designed to detect and track ICBMs launched against North America.
- On 21 January 1968, a B-52G Stratofortress from the 380th Strategic Aerospace Wing, Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York on a secret airborne nuclear alert crashed and burned on the ice near Thule Air Base.
Facts about Samedan Airport (SMV):
- The furthest airport from Samedan Airport (SMV) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Samedan Airport (meaning Samedan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,075 miles (19,433 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Because of Samedan Airport's high elevation of 5,600 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SMV. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SMV a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Samedan Airport (SMV) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Samedan Airport", another name for SMV is "Flughafen Engadin".
- The closest airport to Samedan Airport (SMV) is Lugano Airport (LUG), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) SW of SMV.
- The airport has one runway designated 03/21 with an asphalt pavement measuring 1800 x 40 metres.
- At an elevation of 1,707 metres, it is one of the highest airports in Europe.
