Nonstop flight route between Bitburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bitburg Airport (BBJ), Bitburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,661 miles (or 4,282 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 Bitburg 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 Bitburg 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 Bitburg Airport (BBJ):

• In addition to being known as "Bitburg Airport", another name for BBJ is "Flugplatz Bitburg".
• The closest airport to Bitburg Airport (BBJ) is Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ENE of BBJ.
• On September 15, 2008, the Ministry of Transport of Rhineland-Palatinate granted the airport contractor landing rights for aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of more than 14 tonnes, and the use of IFR traffic rules upon arrival and departure.
• Bitburg Airport (BBJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The USAF departed for the second time in September 1997, and Bitburg Airport was returned to the civil aircraft which now call it home.
• The furthest airport from Bitburg Airport (BBJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,990 miles (19,295 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Thule Air Base (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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
• 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.