Nonstop flight route between Yamagata, Honshū, Japan and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yamagata Airport (GAJ), Yamagata, Honshū, Japan and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,394 miles (or 7,071 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 Yamagata 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 Yamagata 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 Yamagata Airport (GAJ):

• The closest airport to Yamagata Airport (GAJ) is Sendai Airport (SDJ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) ESE of GAJ.
• The furthest airport from Yamagata Airport (GAJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,606 miles (18,679 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Because of Yamagata Airport's relatively low elevation of 345 feet, planes can take off or land at Yamagata 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.
• Yamagata Airport (GAJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Yamagata Airport", another name for GAJ is "山形空港".
• The airport has had no scheduled ground transportation services since April 2009 due to depressed passenger numbers.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• 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".
• 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.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to the base.
• A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.
• 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.