Nonstop flight route between Moline, Illinois, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Quad City International Airport (MLI), Moline, Illinois, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,509 miles (or 4,037 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 Quad City 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 Quad City 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 Quad City International Airport (MLI):

• The furthest airport from Quad City International Airport (MLI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,950 miles (17,623 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Quad City International Airport's relatively low elevation of 590 feet, planes can take off or land at Quad City 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.
• The airport set its passenger record in 2007 when 484,212 passengers boarded flights while 481,930 deplaned.
• The closest airport to Quad City International Airport (MLI) is Davenport Municipal Airport (DVN), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNW of MLI.
• Runway 9/27, the longest runway, was rebuilt in 2011.
• Quad City International Airport (MLI) has 3 runways.
• Quad City International Airport is a public airport in Rock Island County, Illinois, three miles south of Moline.
• Beyond the security checkpoint in between Concourses A & B, there is a snack bar, lounge, bar, and a Gevalia Kaffe Coffee Shop.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• 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.
• The Pentagon maintained that all four weapons had been destroyed.
• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• 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.
• 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.
• Late 1950s the DEW 1 to 4 where build as "weather stations", Thule Air Base would act as an supply station for the DYE bases.
• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.