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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV), Cordova, Alaska, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,020 miles (or 3,251 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 relatively short distance between Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport and Thule Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport (CDV) has 2 runways.

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.
• In 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• Originally established as a Strategic Air Command installation, Thule would periodically serve as a dispersal base for B-36 Peacemaker and B-47 Stratojet aircraft during the 1950s, as well as providing an ideal site to test the operability and maintainability of these weapon systems in extreme cold weather.
• 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.