Nonstop flight route between McAlester, Oklahoma, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McAlester Regional Airport (MLC), McAlester, Oklahoma, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,000 miles (or 4,829 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 McAlester Regional 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 McAlester Regional 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 McAlester Regional Airport (MLC):

• Because of McAlester Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 770 feet, planes can take off or land at McAlester Regional 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.
• The airport covers 257 acres.
• McAlester Regional Airport (MLC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to McAlester Regional Airport (MLC) is Antlers Municipal Airport (ATE), which is located 48 miles (78 kilometers) S of MLC.
• McAlester Regional Airport is in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, three miles southwest of McAlester, which owns it.
• The furthest airport from McAlester Regional Airport (MLC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,791 miles (17,366 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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".
• 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.