Nonstop flight route between Rota Island, Northern Mariana Islands and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rota International Airport (ROP), Rota Island, Northern Mariana Islands and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,017 miles (or 9,684 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 Rota 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 Rota 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 Rota International Airport (ROP):

• Rota International Airport (ROP) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Rota International Airport's relatively low elevation of 607 feet, planes can take off or land at Rota 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 Rota International Airport (ROP) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Rota International Airport (meaning Rota International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,182 miles (19,605 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Rota International Airport (ROP) is Andersen Air Force Base (UAM), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) SSW of ROP.
• Rota International Airport covers an area of 820 acres which contains one paved runway measuring 6,000 x 150 ft.
• In addition to being known as "Rota International Airport", another name for ROP is "GRO".
• The Transportation Security Administration began its Rota operations in March 2006.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• 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.
• 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 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".