Nonstop flight route between Utirik Island, Marshall Islands and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from UTK to THU:
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- About this route
- UTK Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about UTK
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to UTK
- List of Nearest Airports to UTK
- Map of Furthest Airports from UTK
- List of Furthest Airports from UTK
- 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 Utirik Airport (UTK), Utirik Island, Marshall Islands and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,941 miles (or 9,561 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 Utirik 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 Utirik 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: | UTK / |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Utirik Island, Marshall Islands |
GPS Coordinates: | 11°13'21"N by 169°51'10"E |
Area Served: | Utirik, Utirik Atoll, Marshall Islands |
Elevation: | 4 feet (1 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from UTK |
More Information: | UTK 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 Utirik Airport (UTK):
- Because of Utirik Airport's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Utirik 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 Utirik Airport (UTK) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is nearly antipodal to Utirik Airport (meaning Utirik Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAF Ascension), and is located 12,070 miles (19,425 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
- Utirik Airport (UTK) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Utirik Airport", another name for UTK is "03N".
- The closest airport to Utirik Airport (UTK) is Ailuk Airport (AIM), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) S of UTK.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- 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.
- A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- 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.
- Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
- 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".
- Thule Air Base or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport, is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located 1,207 km north of the Arctic Circle and 1,524 km from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland.
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.