Nonstop flight route between Medan, Indonesia and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Polonia International Airport (MES), Medan, Indonesia and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,881 miles (or 11,073 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 Polonia 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 Polonia 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 Polonia International Airport (MES):

• Because of Polonia International Airport's relatively low elevation of 114 feet, planes can take off or land at Polonia International 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.
• In addition to being known as "Polonia International Airport", other names for MES include "Bandar Udara Internasional Polonia" and "WIMK".
• Polonia International Airport is an airport located in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, about 2 km from the downtown.
• The airport suffered from overcrowding, serving 7,5 million passengers annually in facilities designed to handle only 900,000 passengers.
• The closest airport to Polonia International Airport (MES) is Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of MES.
• The furthest airport from Polonia International Airport (MES) is Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport (TBP), which is nearly antipodal to Polonia International Airport (meaning Polonia International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport), and is located 12,371 miles (19,910 kilometers) away in Tumbes, Peru.
• In 1975, according to a joint decree issued by the Department of Defence and Security, Department of Transportation, and Department of Finance, the airport was jointly managed between the Indonesian Air Force and the Civil Aviation.
• In 1879 the concession was handed over to Deli Maatschappij or NV Deli Maskapai.

Facts about Thule Air Base (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.
• 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 became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
• A board of Air Force officers headed by Gordon P.
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.