Nonstop flight route between St Denis, Réunion, France and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roland Garros Airport (RUN), St Denis, Réunion, France and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,152 miles (or 13,119 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 Roland Garros 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 Roland Garros 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 Roland Garros Airport (RUN):

• Air Austral has its head office on the airport property.
• Roland Garros Airport (RUN) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Roland Garros Airport", other names for RUN include "Aéroport de la Réunion Roland Garros" and "Saint Denis Gillot Airport".
• The furthest airport from Roland Garros Airport (RUN) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 11,615 miles (18,693 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
• Because of Roland Garros Airport's relatively low elevation of 66 feet, planes can take off or land at Roland Garros 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 closest airport to Roland Garros Airport (RUN) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) S of RUN.
• Roland Garros Airport handled 206,776 passengers last year.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• 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.
• Thule Air Base or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport, is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located 1,207 km north of the Arctic Circle and 1,524 km from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland.
• 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".
• There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to the base.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• Thule Air Base has served as the regional hub for nearby installations, including Cape Atholl, Camp Century, Camp TUTO, Sites 1 and 2, P-Mountain, J-Site, North and South Mountains, and a research rocket firing site.
• Thule Air Base is also home to the 821st Air Base Group and is responsible for air base support within the Thule Defense Area for the multinational population of "Team Thule." The base hosts the 12th Space Warning Squadron which operates a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System designed to detect and track ICBMs launched against North America.
• 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.