Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Hokitika, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Hokitika Airport (HKK), Hokitika, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,552 miles (or 15,373 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 Hokitika 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 Hokitika 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):

• 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 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.
• 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 closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• Thule Air Base is the U.S.
• 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 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.

Facts about Hokitika Airport (HKK):

• Air Travel Ltd was the first airline in New Zealand to fly scheduled air services.
• The closest airport to Hokitika Airport (HKK) is Greymouth Airport (GMN), which is located 20 miles (33 kilometers) NNE of HKK.
• Hokitika Airport (HKK) has 2 runways.
• Hokitika originally had an aerodrome on the south side of town just over the Hokitika River.
• The Pavement Construction Number is 20 which corresponds to an ability to bare aircraft up to about 84,000 lb or 38,000 kg
• The furthest airport from Hokitika Airport (HKK) is Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ), which is nearly antipodal to Hokitika Airport (meaning Hokitika Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santiago de Compostela Airport), and is located 12,404 miles (19,962 kilometers) away in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
• Because of Hokitika Airport's relatively low elevation of 146 feet, planes can take off or land at Hokitika 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 airport has a number of car rental firms represented, and a small snack bar.