Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Dali, Yunnan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Dali Airport (DLU), Dali, Yunnan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,361 miles (or 8,628 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 Dali 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 Dali 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 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.
• 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.
• Thule Air Base is the U.S.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.

Facts about Dali Airport (DLU):

• The closest airport to Dali Airport (DLU) is Lijiang Sanyi Airport (LJG), which is located 71 miles (115 kilometers) N of DLU.
• Dali Airport (DLU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Dali Airport's high elevation of 7,050 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DLU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DLU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Dali Airport (DLU) is Chañaral Airport (CNR), which is located 11,871 miles (19,105 kilometers) away in Chañaral, Atacama Region, Chile.
• In addition to being known as "Dali Airport", other names for DLU include "大理机场" and "Dàlǐ Jīchǎng".
• Dali Airport handled 274,486 passengers last year.