Nonstop flight route between Bakersfield, California, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Meadows Field (BFL), Bakersfield, California, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,232 miles (or 5,201 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 Meadows Field 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 Meadows Field 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 Meadows Field (BFL):

• The terminal previously had an onsite motel, "Skyway Inn," and a restaurant, "Skyway Steakhouse".
• Passenger and baggage handling at Meadows Field is provided solely by DAL Global Services.
• The closest airport to Meadows Field (BFL) is Shafter Airport (MIT), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) WNW of BFL.
• United Airlines served Meadows Field from 1946 until 1979–80 and again for three years starting around 1984.
• In addition to being known as "Meadows Field", another name for BFL is "Kern County Airport No. 1".
• Meadows Field (BFL) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Meadows Field (BFL) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,406 miles (18,356 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Because of Meadows Field's relatively low elevation of 510 feet, planes can take off or land at Meadows Field 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.
• With the development of commercial air service Bakersfield needed a purpose-built commercial airport.
• In the early 2000s, the county started an initiative to address the problems in air service.
• Kern County Air Terminal has three open air gates, and is currently closed.
• The airport saw increased air service during the 1950s and 1960s.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• In 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
• Thule is the location where the fastest recorded sea level surface wind speed in the world was measured when a peak speed of 333 kilometres per hour was recorded on 8 March 1972 prior to the instrument's destruction.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".