Nonstop flight route between Bubaque, Guinea-Bissau and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bubaque Airport (BQE), Bubaque, Guinea-Bissau and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,894 miles (or 7,876 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 Bubaque 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 Bubaque 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Bubaque Airport (BQE):

• Because of Bubaque Airport's relatively low elevation of 80 feet, planes can take off or land at Bubaque 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.
• Bubaque Airport (BQE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Bubaque Airport (BQE) is Osvaldo Vieira International Airport (OXB), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) NNE of BQE.
• The furthest airport from Bubaque Airport (BQE) is Kirakira Airport (IRA), which is nearly antipodal to Bubaque Airport (meaning Bubaque Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kirakira Airport), and is located 12,272 miles (19,750 kilometers) away in Kirakira, Makira Island, Solomon Islands.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• 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.
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.