Nonstop flight route between Pago Pago, American Samoa and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pago Pago International Airport (PPG), Pago Pago, American Samoa and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,370 miles (or 11,861 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 Pago Pago 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 Pago Pago 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 Pago Pago International Airport (PPG):

• The Departure and Arrival terminal also went through a major expansion in the mid-1970s where buildings and space was doubled in size to handle more passengers.
• Because of Pago Pago International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Pago Pago 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 furthest airport from Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) is Zinder Airport (ZND), which is nearly antipodal to Pago Pago International Airport (meaning Pago Pago International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Zinder Airport), and is located 12,396 miles (19,950 kilometers) away in Zinder, Niger.
• It was also used for inter island air service between Faleolo, Western Samoa and Pago Pago in 1959 by newly formed, Apia-based Polynesian Airlines and short-lived, Pago Pago-based Samoa Airways using ex-military Douglas C-47B-45-DK type aircraft.
• The closest airport to Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) is Ofu Airport (OFU), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) E of PPG.
• Daily inter-island flights between the Samoas are offered by Inter Island Airways and Polynesian Airlines.
• Tasman Empire Airways Limited, or TEAL, the predecessor to what is now Air New Zealand, offered Douglas DC-6 flights from Nadi to Pago Pago and onwards to Tahiti in 1954 as part of its Coral Route Service.
• Pago Pago International Airport (PPG) has 2 runways.
• The original runway alignments were 09/27 x 500 feet ) and 14/32 x 200 feet ) and were constructed of compact coral with capability to handle 65 fighter aircraft and 12 medium to heavy bombers.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• Originally established as a Strategic Air Command installation, Thule would periodically serve as a dispersal base for B-36 Peacemaker and B-47 Stratojet aircraft during the 1950s, as well as providing an ideal site to test the operability and maintainability of these weapon systems in extreme cold weather.
• 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 became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• 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".
• Thule Air Base is the U.S.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.