Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Alakanuk, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Alakanuk Airport (AUK), Alakanuk, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,174 miles (or 3,499 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 relatively short distance between Thule Air Base and Alakanuk Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

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".
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Alakanuk Airport (AUK):

• The furthest airport from Alakanuk Airport (AUK) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,448 miles (16,814 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Because of Alakanuk Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Alakanuk 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.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 4,015 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 3,302 enplanements in 2009, and 3,213 in 2010.
• Alakanuk Airport resides at elevation of 10 feet above mean sea level.
• Alakanuk Airport (AUK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Alakanuk Airport (AUK) is Emmonak Airport (EMK), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NE of AUK.
• In addition to being known as "Alakanuk Airport", another name for AUK is "PAUK".
• Alakanuk Airport is a state owned, public use airport located one nautical mile southwest of the central business district of Alakanuk, a city in the Wade Hampton Census Area of the U.S.