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

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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU):

• On January 1, 1945, 2nd Lt.
• 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.
• The Casco Cove Airport was a LORAN navigation station operated by the United States Coast Guard.
• 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)".
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• After the German occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, Henrik Kauffmann Danish Ambassador to the United States, made an agreement "In the name of the king" with the United States authorizing the United States to defend the Danish colonies on Greenland from German aggression - this agreement faced Kaufmann with a charge of high treason.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• 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.
• In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main 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.
• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• 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.