Nonstop flight route between Mekane Selam, Ethiopia and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mekane Selam Airport (MKS), Mekane Selam, Ethiopia and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,773 miles (or 9,290 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 Mekane Selam 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 Mekane Selam 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 Mekane Selam Airport (MKS):

• In addition to being known as "Mekane Selam Airport", another name for MKS is "Mekane Selam".
• The furthest airport from Mekane Selam Airport (MKS) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Mekane Selam Airport (meaning Mekane Selam Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,270 miles (19,747 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Mekane Selam Airport (MKS) is Combolcha Airport (DSE), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) ENE of MKS.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• 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.
• 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 has served as the regional hub for nearby installations, including Cape Atholl, Camp Century, Camp TUTO, Sites 1 and 2, P-Mountain, J-Site, North and South Mountains, and a research rocket firing site.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• A delegation from NATO's Parliamentary Assembly visited Thule in early September 2010 and were told by the base commander that, at that time, approximately 600 personnel were serving at Thule, a mix of mostly U.S.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• 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.