Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Qingshan, China:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from THU to XIC:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- XIC Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about XIC
- 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 XIC
- List of Nearest Airports to XIC
- Map of Furthest Airports from XIC
- List of Furthest Airports from XIC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC), Qingshan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,205 miles (or 8,376 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 Xichang Qingshan 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 Xichang Qingshan 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: | XIC / ZUXC |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Qingshan, China |
GPS Coordinates: | 27°59'21"N by 102°11'3"E |
Area Served: | Xichang |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5112 feet (1,558 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from XIC |
More Information: | XIC 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.
- 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.
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- In 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC):
- In addition to being known as "Xichang Qingshan Airport", other names for XIC include "西昌青山机场" and "Xīchāng Qīngshān Jīchǎng".
- Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Xichang Qingshan Airport's high elevation of 5,112 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at XIC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make XIC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Xichang Qingshan Airport (meaning Xichang Qingshan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,015 miles (19,337 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
- The closest airport to Xichang Qingshan Airport (XIC) is Zhaotong Airport (ZAT), which is located 107 miles (171 kilometers) ESE of XIC.