Nonstop flight route between Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ), Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,810 miles (or 7,741 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 Ngari Gunsa 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 Ngari Gunsa 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 Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ):

• In addition to being known as "Ngari Gunsa Airport", other names for NGQ include "阿里昆莎机场ལྷ་ས་གོང་དཀར་རྫོང་" and "Ālǐ Kūnshā Jīchǎng".
• Because of Ngari Gunsa Airport's high elevation of 14,022 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at NGQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make NGQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ) is Bhuntar Airport (KUU), which is located 171 miles (275 kilometers) W of NGQ.
• The furthest airport from Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,774 miles (18,948 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.

Facts about Thule Air Base (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.
• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• Thule Air Base is home to the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors providing missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command.
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to the base.
• 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.