Nonstop flight route between Mount Cook, New Zealand and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mount Cook Airport (MON), Mount Cook, New Zealand and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,634 miles (or 15,505 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 Mount Cook 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 Mount Cook 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 Mount Cook Airport (MON):

• Mount Cook Airport (MON) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mount Cook Airport (MON) is Glentanner Aerodrome (GTN), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) S of MON.
• The furthest airport from Mount Cook Airport (MON) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Mount Cook Airport (meaning Mount Cook Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,356 miles (19,885 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• 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.
• 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.
• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• 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.
• 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 Air Base is home to the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command.
• 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.