Nonstop flight route between Kearney, Nebraska, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kearney Regional Airport (EAR), Kearney, Nebraska, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,633 miles (or 4,237 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 Kearney Regional 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 Kearney Regional 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 Kearney Regional Airport (EAR):

• The closest airport to Kearney Regional Airport (EAR) is Hastings Municipal Airport (HSI), which is located 31 miles (51 kilometers) ESE of EAR.
• Kearney Regional Airport (EAR) has 2 runways.
• In 1940 Kearney had a population of 9,643.
• The furthest airport from Kearney Regional Airport (EAR) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,654 miles (17,145 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Kearney Regional Airport is in Buffalo County, Nebraska, five miles northeast of Kearney, which owns it.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 11,956 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 10,113 in 2009 and 9,530 in 2010.
• The first airline flights were Mid-West Cessna 190s in 1950-52, then Frontier DC-3s appeared in 1959.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• 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.
• 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.
• A delegation from NATO's Parliamentary Assembly visited Thule in early September 2010 and were told by the base commander that, at that time, approximately 600 personnel were serving at Thule, a mix of mostly U.S.
• 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.
• Late 1950s the DEW 1 to 4 where build as "weather stations", Thule Air Base would act as an supply station for the DYE bases.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• 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.