Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Westport, New Zealand:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from THU to WSZ:
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- About this route
- THU Airport Information
- WSZ Airport Information
- Facts about THU
- Facts about WSZ
- 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 WSZ
- List of Nearest Airports to WSZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from WSZ
- List of Furthest Airports from WSZ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Westport Airport (WSZ), Westport, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,479 miles (or 15,254 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 Westport 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 Westport 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: | WSZ / NZWS |
Airport Name: | Westport Airport |
Location: | Westport, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 41°44'17"S by 171°34'50"E |
Elevation: | 13 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from WSZ |
More Information: | WSZ Maps & Info |
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- 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".
- 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.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- 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.
- Thule is the location where the fastest recorded sea level surface wind speed in the world was measured when a peak speed of 333 kilometres per hour was recorded on 8 March 1972 prior to the instrument's destruction.
- In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
Facts about Westport Airport (WSZ):
- Westport Airport (WSZ) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Westport Airport (WSZ) is Greymouth Airport (GMN), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) SSW of WSZ.
- Because of Westport Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Westport 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 furthest airport from Westport Airport (WSZ) is Braga Airport (BGZ), which is nearly antipodal to Westport Airport (meaning Westport Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Braga Airport), and is located 12,426 miles (19,998 kilometers) away in Braga, Portugal.