Nonstop flight route between Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Graciosa Airport (GRW), Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,859 miles (or 4,601 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 Graciosa 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 Graciosa 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 Graciosa Airport (GRW):

• Because of Graciosa Airport's relatively low elevation of 85 feet, planes can take off or land at Graciosa 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 furthest airport from Graciosa Airport (GRW) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to Graciosa Airport (meaning Graciosa Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,248 miles (19,712 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.
• The closest airport to Graciosa Airport (GRW) is Pico Airport (PIX), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) SSW of GRW.
• Graciosa Airport (GRW) currently has only 1 runway.

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 1957 construction began on 4 Nike Missile sites around the base, and they and their radar systems were operational by the end of 1958.
• 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.
• Thule Air Base has served as the regional hub for nearby installations, including Cape Atholl, Camp Century, Camp TUTO, Sites 1 and 2, P-Mountain, J-Site, North and South Mountains, and a research rocket firing site.
• A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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.