Nonstop flight route between Buraidah, Saudi Arabia and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from ELQ to THU:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- ELQ Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about ELQ
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to ELQ
- List of Nearest Airports to ELQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from ELQ
- List of Furthest Airports from ELQ
- 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 Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport (ELQ), Buraidah, Saudi Arabia and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,798 miles (or 7,722 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 Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional 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 Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional 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: | ELQ / OEGS |
Airport Name: | Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport |
Location: | Buraidah, Saudi Arabia |
GPS Coordinates: | 26°18'10"N by 43°46'26"E |
Area Served: | Gassim |
Operator/Owner: | General Authority of Civil Aviation |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 2126 feet (648 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from ELQ |
More Information: | ELQ Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport (ELQ):
- The furthest airport from Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport (ELQ) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport (meaning Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,199 miles (19,632 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
- The closest airport to Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport (ELQ) is Dawadmi Domestic Airport (DWD), which is located 130 miles (209 kilometers) S of ELQ.
- Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Regional Airport (ELQ) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- A delegation from NATO's Parliamentary Assembly visited Thule in early September 2010 and were told by the base commander that, at that time, approximately 600 personnel were serving at Thule, a mix of mostly U.S.
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".