Nonstop flight route between Port Heiden, Alaska, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Heiden Airport (PTH), Port Heiden, Alaska, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,444 miles (or 3,934 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 relatively short distance between Port Heiden Airport and Thule Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Port Heiden Airport (PTH):

• The furthest airport from Port Heiden Airport (PTH) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,850 miles (17,462 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• Beginning in 1958 the airport was used to support Port Heiden Air Force Station, a Cold War United States Air Force Distant Early Warning Line radar station.
• In addition to being known as "Port Heiden Airport", other names for PTH include "Port Heiden Air Force Station" and "Fort Morrow Army Airfield".
• Port Heiden Airport (PTH) has 2 runways.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 919 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 964 enplanements in 2009, and 1,037 in 2010.
• Because of Port Heiden Airport's relatively low elevation of 95 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Heiden 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.
• Port Heiden Airport is a state owned, public use airport located six nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Port Heiden, in the Lake and Peninsula Borough of the U.S.
• The closest airport to Port Heiden Airport (PTH) is Chignik Fisheries Airport (KCG), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) S of PTH.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• 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 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".