Nonstop flight route between Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA), Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,851 miles (or 7,807 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA):

• Because of Kona International Airport at Keāhole's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at Kona International Airport at Keāhole 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.
• Kona International Airport at Keāhole handled 2,649,493 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Kona International Airport at Keāhole", another name for KOA is "Kona International Airport".
• Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) currently has only 1 runway.
• When the airport opened in 1970, it helped accelerate a shift of tourism from East Hawaii to West Hawaii.
• Japan Airlines' Kona-Tokyo flight that started in 1996 ended in 2010, so Hawaii Island's only scheduled international flight is to Vancouver.Hawaiian Airlines filed an application with the US Department of Transportation for nonstop flights from Kona to Tokyo's Haneda Airport restoring the link between the two cities after Japan Airlines ended flights to Narita Airport in 2010.
• An environmental impact statement was prepared in 2005 to add a second runway.
• Prior to the 1970 airport expansion, tourism was centered on Hawaii's East side and the town of Hilo.
• The furthest airport from Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Kona International Airport at Keāhole (meaning Kona International Airport at Keāhole is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,954 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• The closest airport to Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) ENE of KOA.

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 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• Thule Air Base is home to the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command.
• 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.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.