Nonstop flight route between Balikpapan, East Kalimantan and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN), Balikpapan, East Kalimantan and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,232 miles (or 11,639 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 Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman 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 Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman 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 Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN):

• The closest airport to Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN) is Bontang Airport (BXT), which is located 104 miles (168 kilometers) NNE of BPN.
• The second phase renovation took place in 1996 to renovate the hangars, fuel depots and the administration buildings.
• Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport handled 5,680,961 passengers last year.
• Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN) is Barcelos Airport (BAZ), which is nearly antipodal to Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (meaning Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barcelos Airport), and is located 12,281 miles (19,764 kilometers) away in Barcelos, Amazonas, Brazil.
• Because of Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport's relatively low elevation of 12 feet, planes can take off or land at Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport 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 numerous buildings located around the airport and its only runway jutting out into the settlement, landings at the airport are dramatic to experience and technically demanding for pilots.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• 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.
• 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 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• In 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
• Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.