Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Stewart Island, New Zealand:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from THU to SZS:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- SZS Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about SZS
- 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 SZS
- List of Nearest Airports to SZS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SZS
- List of Furthest Airports from SZS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), Stewart Island, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,871 miles (or 15,886 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome, 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome. 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: |
|
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: | SZS / NZRC |
Airport Name: | Ryan's Creek Aerodrome |
Location: | Stewart Island, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 46°53'58"S by 168°6'6"E |
Operator/Owner: | South East Air |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 288 feet (88 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SZS |
More Information: | SZS Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.
- In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
- Thule Air Base is the U.S.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- 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.
Facts about Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS):
- Ryan's Creek Aerodrome is a small airstrip on Stewart Island in southern New Zealand.
- The furthest airport from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (meaning Ryan's Creek Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
- The closest airport to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is Invercargill Airport (IVC), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of SZS.
- The airport is at an elevation of 288 feet above mean sea level.
- Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Ryan's Creek Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 288 feet, planes can take off or land at Ryan's Creek Aerodrome 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 2000 Southern Air 1997 Ltd was bought by Stewart Island Flights, which uses Islanders FXE and FWZ, Cessna A185E Skywagon JEM and Piper PA32 Cherokee Sixs RTS and DIV aircraft in its service.