Nonstop flight route between Attu Island, Alaska, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from ATU to THU:
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- About this route
- ATU Airport Information
- THU Airport Information
- Facts about ATU
- Facts about THU
- Map of Nearest Airports to ATU
- List of Nearest Airports to ATU
- Map of Furthest Airports from ATU
- List of Furthest Airports from ATU
- 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 Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), Attu Island, Alaska, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,101 miles (or 4,990 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 Casco Cove Coast Guard Station 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 Casco Cove Coast Guard Station 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: | ATU / PAAT |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Attu Island, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°49'57"N by 173°10'32"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Coast Guard 17th Dist. |
Airport Type: | Private use |
Elevation: | 88 feet (27 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from ATU |
More Information: | ATU 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 Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU):
- Established as Naval Air Facility Attu on June 7, 1943, just seven days after Attu Island was declared secured.
- Casco Cove CGS resides at elevation of 88 feet above mean sea level.
- The furthest airport from Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,631 miles (17,109 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Casco Cove Coast Guard Station", other names for ATU include "LORAN Station Attu" and "(former Naval Air Facility Attu)".
- The closest airport to Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU) is Eareckson Air Station (SYA), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) ESE of ATU.
- Casco Cove Coast Guard Station is a military facility and private use airfield on Attu Island, one of the Aleutian Islands in the U.S.
- The island is protected as part of the National Parks Trust territory and few people visit the island or area, as it is restricted.
- Because of Casco Cove Coast Guard Station's relatively low elevation of 88 feet, planes can take off or land at Casco Cove Coast Guard Station 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.
Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):
- Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
- 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".
- 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.
- Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
- The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of 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.
- Thule Air Base or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport, is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located 1,207 km north of the Arctic Circle and 1,524 km from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland.