Nonstop flight route between Griffith, New South Wales, Australia and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Griffith Airport (GFF), Griffith, New South Wales, Australia and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,319 miles (or 14,997 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 Griffith 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 Griffith 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 Griffith Airport (GFF):

• Because of Griffith Airport's relatively low elevation of 439 feet, planes can take off or land at Griffith 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.
• Griffith Airport (GFF) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Griffith Airport (GFF) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Griffith Airport (meaning Griffith Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,045 miles (19,385 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Griffith Airport (GFF) is West Wyalong Airport (WWY), which is located 68 miles (109 kilometers) ENE of GFF.
• Regional Express withdrew services to and from Melbourne in July 2012.

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.
• 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 closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• 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.
• 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.
• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".