Nonstop flight route between Gwangju (Kwangju), South Korea and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gwangju Airport (KWJ), Gwangju (Kwangju), South Korea and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,692 miles (or 7,552 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 Gwangju 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 Gwangju 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 Gwangju Airport (KWJ):

• Gwangju Airport handled 1,539,187 passengers last year.
• Situated 11 km west of downtown Gwangju, Gwangju International Airport has two terminals for passenger and cargo, a runway, taxi stops, and parking lot accommodating about 820 vehicles.
• Gwangju Airport (KWJ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Gwangju Airport (KWJ) is Mokpo Airport (MPK), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) SW of KWJ.
• Gwangju Airport is an airport in the city of Gwangju, South Korea and is managed by the Korea Airports Corporation.
• In addition to being known as "Gwangju Airport", other names for KWJ include "광주공항 光州空港", "Gwangju Gonghang" and "Kwangju Konghang".
• The furthest airport from Gwangju Airport (KWJ) is Capitán de Corbeta Carlos A. Curbelo International Airport (PDP), which is nearly antipodal to Gwangju Airport (meaning Gwangju Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Capitán de Corbeta Carlos A. Curbelo International Airport), and is located 12,327 miles (19,839 kilometers) away in Maldonado/Punta del Este, Maldonado, Uruguay.
• Because of Gwangju Airport's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Gwangju 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.

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.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
• Thule Air Base is also home to the 821st Air Base Group and is responsible for air base support within the Thule Defense Area for the multinational population of "Team Thule." The base hosts the 12th Space Warning Squadron which operates a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System designed to detect and track ICBMs launched against North America.
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• 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.