Nonstop flight route between Greenville, Illinois, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Greenville Airport (GRE), Greenville, Illinois, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,679 miles (or 4,312 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 Greenville 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 Greenville 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 Greenville Airport (GRE):

• The closest airport to Greenville Airport (GRE) is Salem–Leckrone Airport (SLO), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ESE of GRE.
• Greenville Airport (GRE) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Greenville Airport (GRE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,038 miles (17,764 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Greenville Airport's relatively low elevation of 541 feet, planes can take off or land at Greenville 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.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• 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 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• 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 1957 construction began on 4 Nike Missile sites around the base, and they and their radar systems were operational by the end of 1958.
• Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• The ratification of the treaty in 1951 did not change much, except that the Danish national flag Dannebrog must be side by side with Stars and Stripes on the base.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.