Nonstop flight route between Arkalyk, Kazakhstan and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Arkalyk (AYK), Arkalyk, Kazakhstan and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,458 miles (or 5,565 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 Arkalyk 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 Arkalyk 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 Arkalyk (AYK):

• The furthest airport from Arkalyk (AYK) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 10,825 miles (17,421 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Arkalyk (AYK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Arkalyk (AYK) is Atbasar (ATX), which is located 122 miles (196 kilometers) NNE of AYK.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.
• 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 also home to the 821st Air Base Group and is responsible for air base support within the Thule Defense Area for the multinational population of "Team Thule." The base hosts the 12th Space Warning Squadron which operates a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System designed to detect and track ICBMs launched against North America.
• 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".
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• Thule Air Base has served as the regional hub for nearby installations, including Cape Atholl, Camp Century, Camp TUTO, Sites 1 and 2, P-Mountain, J-Site, North and South Mountains, and a research rocket firing site.
• Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.