Nonstop flight route between Carrillo, Costa Rica and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (RIK), Carrillo, Costa Rica and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,648 miles (or 7,480 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 Playa Sámara/Carrillo 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 Playa Sámara/Carrillo 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 Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (RIK):

• In addition to being known as "Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport", another name for RIK is "RIK[1]".
• The closest airport to Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (RIK) is Punta Islita Airport (PBP), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) E of RIK.
• Because of Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Playa Sámara/Carrillo 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.
• Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (RIK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (RIK) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (meaning Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,212 miles (19,654 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• Late 1950s the DEW 1 to 4 where build as "weather stations", Thule Air Base would act as an supply station for the DYE bases.
• 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 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.
• 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 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• 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.