Nonstop flight route between Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between King Khalid International Airport (RUH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,930 miles (or 7,934 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 large distance between King Khalid 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 King Khalid 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 King Khalid International Airport (RUH):

• Heads of state and other high-ranking VIP visitors to the Kingdom are greeted in the Royal Pavilion.
• The furthest airport from King Khalid International Airport (RUH) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to King Khalid International Airport (meaning King Khalid International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,273 miles (19,752 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• There are 19 separate floor levels in the tower, including the operations area at the base of the tower and a total of 1,230 square metres of floor space.
• In addition to being known as "King Khalid International Airport", another name for RUH is "مطار الملك خالد الدولي".
• King Khalid International Airport (RUH) has 2 runways.
• King Khalid International Airport handled 13,919,000 passengers last year.
• KKIA was the first airport in the Kingdom to install airbridges, to speed up handling and turnaround times.
• The 1703rd ARW was composed mainly of KC-135 Stratotankers and used the north western firehouse as its headquarters of air operations.
• The closest airport to King Khalid International Airport (RUH) is Dawadmi Domestic Airport (DWD), which is located 166 miles (266 kilometers) WSW of RUH.

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 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.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• 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.
• 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.