Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Guápiles, Costa Rica:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Guápiles Airport (GPL), Guápiles, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,616 miles (or 7,429 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 Guápiles 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 Guápiles 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over U.S.
• 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.
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• 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 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 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 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.

Facts about Guápiles Airport (GPL):

• Guápiles Airport (GPL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Guápiles Airport (GPL) is Tobías Bolaños International Airport (SYQ), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) SW of GPL.
• The furthest airport from Guápiles Airport (GPL) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Guápiles Airport (meaning Guápiles Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,294 miles (19,785 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of Guápiles Airport's relatively low elevation of 883 feet, planes can take off or land at Guápiles 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.