Nonstop flight route between Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,607 miles (or 9,023 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 Hong Kong International 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 Hong Kong International 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 Hong Kong International Airport (HKG):

• In addition to being known as "Hong Kong International Airport", other names for HKG include "Chek Lap Kok Airport" and "香港國際機場赤鱲角機場".
• The interior of Terminal 1 at night-time
• HKIA is an important contributor to Hong Kong's economy, with approximately 65,000 employees.
• Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) has 2 runways.
• Construction of the new airport was only part of the Airport Core Programme, which also involved construction of new road and rail links to the airport, with associated bridges and tunnels, and major land reclamation projects on both Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon.
• The furthest airport from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) is Capitán Oriel Lea Plaza International Airport (TJA), which is nearly antipodal to Hong Kong International Airport (meaning Hong Kong International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Capitán Oriel Lea Plaza International Airport), and is located 12,334 miles (19,850 kilometers) away in Tarija, Bolivia.
• Hong Kong International Airport handled 59,900,000 passengers last year.
• Terminal 1 of the HKIA is the third largest airport passenger terminal building in the world with an area measuring 570,000 m2, after Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 and Beijing Capital International Airport's Terminal 3.
• Chek Lap Kok Airport was designed as a replacement for the former Hong Kong International Airport originally built in 1925.
• In 2007, HKIA began the construction of a two-storey North Satellite Concourse which opened in December 2009.
• Because of Hong Kong International Airport's relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Hong Kong International 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 closest airport to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) is Shun Tak Heliport (HHP), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) E of HKG.
• On 31 July 2000, Todd Salimuchai, a regularised illegal immigrant in Hong Kong with no provable nationality, forced his way through a security checkpoint using a fake pistol, took a woman hostage, and boarded a Cathay Pacific aircraft.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• 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 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.