Nonstop flight route between Maintirano, Madagascar and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maintirano Airport (MXT), Maintirano, Madagascar and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,791 miles (or 12,539 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 Maintirano 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 Maintirano 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 Maintirano Airport (MXT):

• The furthest airport from Maintirano Airport (MXT) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is located 11,185 miles (18,000 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• The closest airport to Maintirano Airport (MXT) is Tambohorano Airport (WTA), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) N of MXT.
• Because of Maintirano Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Maintirano 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.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• 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.