Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Hannover Airport (HAJ), Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,549 miles (or 4,103 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 Hannover 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 Hannover 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.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.

Facts about Hannover Airport (HAJ):

• As of November 2013 concourse A is closed for refurbishment scheduled until July 2014.
• In addition to being known as "Hannover Airport", another name for HAJ is "Flughafen Hannover-Langenhagen".
• Hannover Airport (HAJ) has 3 runways.
• Hannover Airport is one of very few German airports which are open 24 hours a day, but in practice there are very few flights between 11pm and 4am.
• The closest airport to Hannover Airport (HAJ) is Celle Air Base (ZCN), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of HAJ.
• Because of Hannover Airport's relatively low elevation of 183 feet, planes can take off or land at Hannover 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.
• The furthest airport from Hannover Airport (HAJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,776 miles (18,952 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1998 the larger terminal C was opened to handle more passengers, adding 8 more gates.