Nonstop flight route between Cordova, Alaska, United States and Nuuk, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV), Cordova, Alaska, United States and Nuuk Airport (GOH), Nuuk, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,744 miles (or 4,416 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 Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport and Nuuk Airport, 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 Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport and Nuuk Airport. 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 Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV):

• Because of Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport's relatively low elevation of 54 feet, planes can take off or land at Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith 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.
• Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,562 miles (16,998 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV) is Cordova Municipal Airport (CKU), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) WNW of CDV.

Facts about Nuuk Airport (GOH):

• In the early 1960s, after the establishment of Air Greenland on 7 November 1960 as Grønlandsfly, Nuuk was served exclusively by the PBY Catalina water planes, with the aircraft using the waterways of the Nuuk Port as a landing site.
• To land at the airport, fixed-wing planes flying from the north, and going to land towards north, must perform a full 180-degree U-turn, flying directly over the city.
• The closest airport to Nuuk Airport (GOH) is Maniitsoq Airport (JSU), which is located 92 miles (148 kilometers) NNW of GOH.
• The de Havilland Canada Dash 8 turboprops, acquired in Spring 2010, are the newest planes in the Air Greenland fleet, and are based at the airport.
• The airport was constructed to serve the largest town in Greenland, yet due to space constraints at the location in a mountainous area and problems with the weather, it is unable to service large airliners or flights reaching Denmark.
• Another option mentioned is to have Keflavik, Iceland as the international hub, close Kangerlussuaq, and expand Nuuk Airport runway slightly, so small jet planes can use it.
• Because of Nuuk Airport's relatively low elevation of 283 feet, planes can take off or land at Nuuk 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.
• Nuuk Airport (GOH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Nuuk Airport (GOH) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 10,779 miles (17,347 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
• Nuuk Airport handled 69,324 passengers last year.
• Nuuk Airport ) is an airport in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.
• In addition to being known as "Nuuk Airport", other names for GOH include "Mittarfik Nuuk" and "Nuuk Lufthavn".
• There are plans of extending the runway to 1,199 m.
• The tragedy was one of the factors leading to the decision to invest in a helicopter fleet.