Nonstop flight route between Shawnee, Oklahoma, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shawnee Regional Airport (SNL), Shawnee, Oklahoma, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,978 miles (or 4,793 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 Shawnee Regional 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 Shawnee Regional 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 Shawnee Regional Airport (SNL):

• The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a general aviation facility.
• The furthest airport from Shawnee Regional Airport (SNL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,825 miles (17,421 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Shawnee Regional Airport (SNL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Shawnee Regional Airport (SNL) is Tinker Air Force Base (TIK), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) W of SNL.
• In 2011 the airport opened a new terminal building.

Facts about Thule Air Base (THU):

• There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to the base.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• The ratification of the treaty in 1951 did not change much, except that the Danish national flag Dannebrog must be side by side with Stars and Stripes on the base.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.