Nonstop flight route between Christmas Island, Australia and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from XCH to THU:
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- About this route
- XCH Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about XCH
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to XCH
- List of Nearest Airports to XCH
- Map of Furthest Airports from XCH
- List of Furthest Airports from XCH
- Map of Nearest Airports to THU
- List of Nearest Airports to THU
- Map of Furthest Airports from THU
- List of Furthest Airports from THU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Christmas Island Airport (XCH), Christmas Island, Australia and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,866 miles (or 12,660 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 Christmas Island Airport and Thule Air Base, 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 Christmas Island Airport and Thule Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | XCH / YPXM |
| Airport Name: | Christmas Island Airport |
| Location: | Christmas Island, Australia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 10°27'2"S by 105°41'25"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Toll Remote Logistics |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 916 feet (279 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from XCH |
| More Information: | XCH Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Christmas Island Airport (XCH):
- Christmas Island Airport handled 27,286 passengers last year.
- The airport resides at an elevation of 916 ft above sea level.
- Christmas Island Airport (XCH) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Christmas Island Airport (XCH) is Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ), which is nearly antipodal to Christmas Island Airport (meaning Christmas Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport), and is located 12,393 miles (19,944 kilometers) away in Barranquilla, Colombia.
- Because of Christmas Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 916 feet, planes can take off or land at Christmas Island 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.
- The closest airport to Christmas Island Airport (XCH) is Cibeureum Airfield (TSY), which is located 276 miles (445 kilometers) NE of XCH.
- Traffic to and from the airport varies greatly.
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.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- On 21 January 1968, a B-52G Stratofortress from the 380th Strategic Aerospace Wing, Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York on a secret airborne nuclear alert crashed and burned on the ice near Thule Air Base.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- 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.
