Nonstop flight route between Columbus, Nebraska, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Columbus Municipal Airport (OLU), Columbus, Nebraska, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,567 miles (or 4,132 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 Columbus Municipal 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 Columbus Municipal 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 Columbus Municipal Airport (OLU):

• Columbus Municipal Airport (OLU) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Columbus Municipal Airport (OLU) is Norfolk Regional Airport (OFK), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) N of OLU.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Municipal Airport (OLU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,601 miles (17,060 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

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.
• 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.
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• Thule Air Base is also home to the 821st Air Base Group and is responsible for air base support within the Thule Defense Area for the multinational population of "Team Thule." The base hosts the 12th Space Warning Squadron which operates a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System designed to detect and track ICBMs launched against North America.
• 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.
• 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.