Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Mascot (near Sydney), Australia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from THU to SYD:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- SYD Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about SYD
- 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 SYD
- List of Nearest Airports to SYD
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYD
- List of Furthest Airports from SYD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), Mascot (near Sydney), Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,240 miles (or 14,871 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 Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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 Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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: | SYD / YSSY |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Mascot (near Sydney), Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°56'45"S by 151°10'37"E |
Area Served: | Sydney |
Operator/Owner: | Sydney Airport Corporation Limited |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 21 feet (6 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from SYD |
More Information: | SYD Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
- 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.
- 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 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
- 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 became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
Facts about Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD):
- The furthest airport from Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (meaning Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,144 miles (19,543 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
- The closest airport to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Bankstown Airport (BWU), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) W of SYD.
- The new terminal was officially opened on 3 May 1970, by Queen Elizabeth II.
- Because of Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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.
- In addition to being known as "Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport", another name for SYD is "Kingsford-Smith Airport".
- In September 2012, Sydney Airport CEO Kerrie Mather announced the airport had abandoned the proposal to create alliance-based terminals in favour of terminals "based around specific airline requirements and transfer flows".
- In addition to the curfew, Sydney Airport also has a cap of 80 aircraft movements per hour which cannot be exceeded, leading to increased delays during peak hours.
- The "third runway" which the Commonwealth government commenced development of in 1989 and completed in 1994, remained controversial because of increased aircraftmovements, especially over many inner suburbs.
- Sydney Airport had a fourth passenger terminal, east of Terminal 2.
- Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) has 3 runways.
- In 2012, Sydney Airport served 22,652,282 domestic, 1,986,595 regional and 12,372,246 international passengers.