Nonstop flight route between Jijiga, Ethiopia and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wilwal International Airport (JIJ), Jijiga, Ethiopia and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,929 miles (or 9,542 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 Wilwal 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 Wilwal 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 Wilwal International Airport (JIJ):

• Wilwal International Airport (JIJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Wilwal International Airport (JIJ) is Borama Airport (BXX), which is located 46 miles (73 kilometers) NNE of JIJ.
• Because of Wilwal International Airport's high elevation of 5,413 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at JIJ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make JIJ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The first airfield at Jijiga was constructed in 1929.
• The furthest airport from Wilwal International Airport (JIJ) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Wilwal International Airport (meaning Wilwal International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,302 miles (19,799 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

Facts about Thule Air Base (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.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.