Nonstop flight route between Kiwayu, Kenya and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kiwayu Airport (KWY), Kiwayu, Kenya and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,666 miles (or 10,728 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 Kiwayu 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 Kiwayu 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 Kiwayu Airport (KWY):

• Kiwayu Airport (KWY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kiwayu Airport (KWY) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,626 miles (18,710 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• Because of Kiwayu Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Kiwayu 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 closest airport to Kiwayu Airport (KWY) is Manda Airport (LAU), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) SW of KWY.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• On 21 January 1968, a B-52G Stratofortress from the 380th Strategic Aerospace Wing, Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York on a secret airborne nuclear alert crashed and burned on the ice near Thule Air Base.
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• 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.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• 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.