Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Goma Airport (GOM), Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,458 miles (or 10,393 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 Goma 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 Goma 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):

• 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.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• In 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• Thule Air Base is the U.S.
• Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• 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.
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• 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.

Facts about Goma Airport (GOM):

• Because of Goma Airport's high elevation of 5,089 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GOM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GOM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Goma Airport (GOM) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,981 miles (19,282 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• Goma Airport (GOM) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 15 April 2008, a Hewa Bora Airways DC-9 overshot the runway during an aborted takeoff and crashed into the marketplace immediately to the south of the airport, killing over 40 people.
• The closest airport to Goma Airport (GOM) is Gisenyi Airport (GYI), which is located only 2 miles (2 kilometers) ESE of GOM.