Nonstop flight route between Macará, Ecuador and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR), Macará, Ecuador and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,608 miles (or 9,025 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 José María Velasco Ibarra 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 José María Velasco Ibarra 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 José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR):

• The closest airport to José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR) is Camilo Ponce Enriquez Airport (LOH), which is located 47 miles (76 kilometers) NE of MRR.
• The furthest airport from José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (MRR) is Sitiawan Airport (SWY), which is nearly antipodal to José María Velasco Ibarra Airport (meaning José María Velasco Ibarra Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sitiawan Airport), and is located 12,391 miles (19,942 kilometers) away in Perak, Malaysia.
• In addition to being known as "José María Velasco Ibarra Airport", another name for MRR is "Aeropuerto J.M. Velasco Ibarra".

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• The ratification of the treaty in 1951 did not change much, except that the Danish national flag Dannebrog must be side by side with Stars and Stripes on the base.
• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• On 21 January 1968, a B-52G Stratofortress from the 380th Strategic Aerospace Wing, Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York on a secret airborne nuclear alert crashed and burned on the ice near Thule Air 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.
• 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 liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
• 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 closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• 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.
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.