Nonstop flight route between Adak Island, Alaska, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from ADK to THU:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- ADK Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about ADK
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to ADK
- List of Nearest Airports to ADK
- Map of Furthest Airports from ADK
- List of Furthest Airports from ADK
- 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 Adak Airport (ADK), Adak Island, Alaska, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,032 miles (or 4,879 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 Adak 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 Adak 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: | ADK / PADK |
Airport Name: | Adak Airport |
Location: | Adak Island, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°52'41"N by 176°38'45"W |
Area Served: | Adak Island, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | Alaska DOT&PF - Central Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 18 feet (5 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ADK |
More Information: | ADK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | THU / BGTL |
Airport Names: |
|
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 Adak Airport (ADK):
- Once an American Airlines Boeing 777-200 from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport en route to Tokyo Narita diverted to Adak Airport due to a fire warning in the cargo hold.
- Adak Airport (ADK) has 2 runways.
- Because of Adak Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Adak 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 Adak Airport (ADK) is Atka Airport (AKB), which is located 106 miles (171 kilometers) ENE of ADK.
- The furthest airport from Adak Airport (ADK) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,985 miles (17,679 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
Facts about Thule Air Base (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.
- 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".
- 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.
- 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 ratification of the treaty in 1951 did not change much, except that the Danish national flag Dannebrog must be side by side with Stars and Stripes on the base.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
- 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.