Nonstop flight route between Vientiane, Laos and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from VTE to THU:
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- About this route
- VTE Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about VTE
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to VTE
- List of Nearest Airports to VTE
- Map of Furthest Airports from VTE
- List of Furthest Airports from VTE
- 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 Wattay International Airport (VTE), Vientiane, Laos and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,896 miles (or 9,489 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 Wattay International 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 Wattay International 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: | VTE / VLVT |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Vientiane, Laos |
GPS Coordinates: | 17°59'17"N by 102°33'47"E |
Operator/Owner: | Military of Laos |
Airport Type: | Military/Public/Civil Aviation Authority |
Elevation: | 564 feet (172 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from VTE |
More Information: | VTE 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 Wattay International Airport (VTE):
- Wattay International Airport (VTE) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Wattay International Airport (VTE) is Maria Reiche Neuman Airport (NZC), which is nearly antipodal to Wattay International Airport (meaning Wattay International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maria Reiche Neuman Airport), and is located 12,165 miles (19,578 kilometers) away in Nazca, Ica Region, Peru.
- Wattay International Airport is one of the few international airports in Laos.
- Because of Wattay International Airport's relatively low elevation of 564 feet, planes can take off or land at Wattay International 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.
- In addition to being known as "Wattay International Airport", other names for VTE include "ສະໜາມບິນສາກົນວັດໄຕ" and "สนามบินนานาชาติวัตไต".
- Access to airport by taxi, car and tuk-tuk.
- The closest airport to Wattay International Airport (VTE) is Udon Thani International Airport ท่าอากาศยานอุดรธานี (UTH), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) SSE of VTE.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
- 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 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 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
- Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
- In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
- In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.