Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Alderney, Channel Islands, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Alderney Airport (ACI), Alderney, Channel Islands, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,535 miles (or 4,080 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 Thule Air Base and Alderney Airport, 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 Thule Air Base and Alderney Airport. 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 Thule Air Base (THU):

• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• 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 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
• 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 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.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to the base.

Facts about Alderney Airport (ACI):

• Because of Alderney Airport's relatively low elevation of 290 feet, planes can take off or land at Alderney 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 terminal building, erected in 1968, contains an arrivals room and a departure lounge, with a check-in desk for the airport's only scheduled airline, Aurigny Air Services.
• Alderney Airport (ACI) has 3 runways.
• In July 2013, airline Aurigny announced that from September it will launch direct flights to Jersey on a trial basis for a period of six weeks.
• The furthest airport from Alderney Airport (ACI) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,999 miles (19,310 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Alderney Airport (ACI) is Guernsey Airport (GCI), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) SW of ACI.