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

Arrival Airport:

Distance from THU to WHK:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- WHK Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about WHK
- 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 WHK
- List of Nearest Airports to WHK
- Map of Furthest Airports from WHK
- List of Furthest Airports from WHK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Whakatane Airport (WHK), Whakatane, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,144 miles (or 14,715 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 Whakatane 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 Whakatane 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: |
|
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: | WHK / NZWK |
Airport Name: | Whakatane Airport |
Location: | Whakatane, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°55'14"S by 176°54'51"E |
Elevation: | 20 feet (6 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from WHK |
More Information: | WHK Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- The Pentagon maintained that all four weapons had been destroyed.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- 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.
- A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
Facts about Whakatane Airport (WHK):
- The closest airport to Whakatane Airport (WHK) is Rotorua International Airport (ROT), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WSW of WHK.
- The furthest airport from Whakatane Airport (WHK) is Granada Airport (GRX), which is nearly antipodal to Whakatane Airport (meaning Whakatane Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Granada Airport), and is located 12,374 miles (19,913 kilometers) away in Granada, Spain.
- Whakatane Airport (WHK) has 2 runways.
- Because of Whakatane Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Whakatane 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.