Nonstop flight route between Kunming, Yunnan, China and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG), Kunming, Yunnan, China and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,406 miles (or 8,699 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 Kunming Changshui 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 Kunming Changshui 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 Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG):

• Construction began in 2009 and at the time was reported to be named the Zheng He International Airport.
• The furthest airport from Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG) is Chañaral Airport (CNR), which is nearly antipodal to Kunming Changshui International Airport (meaning Kunming Changshui International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chañaral Airport), and is located 12,026 miles (19,353 kilometers) away in Chañaral, Atacama Region, Chile.
• Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG) is Wenshan Puzhehei Airport (WNH), which is located 138 miles (222 kilometers) SE of KMG.
• The main 548,300 m2 terminal of Changshui Airport is the second largest terminal building in China.
• In addition to being known as "Kunming Changshui International Airport", other names for KMG include "昆明长水国际机场" and "Kūnmíng Chángshuǐ Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Because of Kunming Changshui International Airport's high elevation of 6,900 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KMG. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KMG a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
• 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 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.