Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Alpine, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (ALE), Alpine, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,383 miles (or 5,445 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 Alpine-Casparis Municipal 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 Alpine-Casparis Municipal 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 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• Late 1950s the DEW 1 to 4 where build as "weather stations", Thule Air Base would act as an supply station for the DYE bases.
• After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• 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.
• Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
• 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.

Facts about Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (ALE):

• On July 4, 2010, a twin-engine Cessna 421 employed by O’Hara Flying Service II LP of Amarillo as an air ambulance, was en route to Midland, Texas when it crashed in a field one mile east of Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport, killing all 5 on board.
• Because of Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,515 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ALE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ALE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (ALE) is Marfa Municipal Airport (MRF), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) W of ALE.
• In addition to being known as "Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport", other names for ALE include "none" and "E38".
• The airport's only scheduled service as of January 2013 is a Monday through Friday cargo flight operated by Ameriflight on behalf of UPS to Midland, Texas.
• Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (ALE) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport (ALE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,345 miles (18,257 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.