Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Shangri-La, Yunnan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG), Shangri-La, Yunnan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,211 miles (or 8,387 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 Dêqên Shangri-La 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 Dêqên Shangri-La 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):

• 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.
• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• 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 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• Thule is the location where the fastest recorded sea level surface wind speed in the world was measured when a peak speed of 333 kilometres per hour was recorded on 8 March 1972 prior to the instrument's destruction.
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.

Facts about Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG):

• Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Dêqên Shangri-La Airport", other names for DIG include "迪庆香格里拉机场" and "Díqìng Xiānggélǐlā Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG) is Lijiang Sanyi Airport (LJG), which is located 85 miles (136 kilometers) SSE of DIG.
• Because of Dêqên Shangri-La Airport's high elevation of 10,761 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DIG. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DIG a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is located 11,866 miles (19,096 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.