Nonstop flight route between Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL), Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,435 miles (or 3,918 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 relatively short distance between Kiel Holtenau Airport and Thule Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL):

• Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Further, German Air Force aircraft operating as fake targets for practice depart from Kiel Airport.
• Because of Kiel Holtenau Airport's relatively low elevation of 101 feet, planes can take off or land at Kiel Holtenau 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.
• Cirrus Airlines operated scheduled flights to Munich from 2 May 2006 using a single DHC-8-100 aircraft, which was based in Kiel Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Kiel Holtenau Airport", another name for KEL is "Flughafen Kiel-Holtenau".
• Its taxiways were extended in 1963, a first terminal was built in 1965.
• The aerodrome was built in 1914 on a plain area that had been created from material dug out during the construction of the Kiel Canal.
• The closest airport to Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) is Sønderborg Airport (SGD), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) NNW of KEL.
• The furthest airport from Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,649 miles (18,747 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• There are currently no scheduled services to and from Kiel Airport.
• However, use of the airport declined in the following years as more and more scheduled flight routes were discontinued.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.