Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Almaty, Kazakhstan:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to ALA:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- ALA Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about ALA
- 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 ALA
- List of Nearest Airports to ALA
- Map of Furthest Airports from ALA
- List of Furthest Airports from ALA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Almaty International Airport (ALA), Almaty, Kazakhstan would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,018 miles (or 6,466 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 Almaty International 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 Almaty International 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: | ALA / UAAA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Almaty, Kazakhstan |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°21'19"N by 77°2'40"E |
Area Served: | Almaty |
Operator/Owner: | JSC Almaty International Airport |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 2234 feet (681 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ALA |
More Information: | ALA Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Air Base has served as the regional hub for nearby installations, including Cape Atholl, Camp Century, Camp TUTO, Sites 1 and 2, P-Mountain, J-Site, North and South Mountains, and a research rocket firing site.
- In the winter of 1956/57 three KC-97 tankers and alternately one of two RB-47H aircraft made polar flights to inspect Soviet defenses.
Facts about Almaty International Airport (ALA):
- The furthest airport from Almaty International Airport (ALA) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,261 miles (18,123 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
- In addition to being known as "Almaty International Airport", other names for ALA include "Халықаралық Алматы Әуежайы" and "Международный Аэропорт Алматы".
- Almaty Airport is a hub for the national carrier Air Astana.
- Almaty International Airport (ALA) has 2 runways.
- On 30 September 2008 a second runway was opened with a first departure of a BMI flight bound for London Heathrow.
- The closest airport to Almaty International Airport (ALA) is Manas International Airport (FRU), which is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) W of ALA.