Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Utirik Island, Marshall Islands:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to UTK:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- UTK Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about UTK
- 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 UTK
- List of Nearest Airports to UTK
- Map of Furthest Airports from UTK
- List of Furthest Airports from UTK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Utirik Airport (UTK), Utirik Island, Marshall Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,941 miles (or 9,561 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 Utirik 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 Utirik 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: | UTK / |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Utirik Island, Marshall Islands |
| GPS Coordinates: | 11°13'21"N by 169°51'10"E |
| Area Served: | Utirik, Utirik Atoll, Marshall Islands |
| Elevation: | 4 feet (1 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from UTK |
| More Information: | UTK 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.
- 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.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- 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 became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
- 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- 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.
Facts about Utirik Airport (UTK):
- The furthest airport from Utirik Airport (UTK) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is nearly antipodal to Utirik Airport (meaning Utirik Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAF Ascension), and is located 12,070 miles (19,425 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
- Utirik Airport (UTK) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Utirik Airport", another name for UTK is "03N".
- The closest airport to Utirik Airport (UTK) is Ailuk Airport (AIM), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) S of UTK.
- Because of Utirik Airport's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Utirik 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.
