Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Hateruma, Okinawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Hateruma Airport (HTR), Hateruma, Okinawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,466 miles (or 8,797 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 Hateruma 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 Hateruma 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 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 closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of 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.
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• 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.

Facts about Hateruma Airport (HTR):

• In addition to being known as "Hateruma Airport", other names for HTR include "波照間空港" and "Hateruma Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Hateruma Airport (HTR) is Dr. Augusto Roberto Fuster International Airport (PJC), which is nearly antipodal to Hateruma Airport (meaning Hateruma Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dr. Augusto Roberto Fuster International Airport), and is located 12,336 miles (19,853 kilometers) away in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay.
• The closest airport to Hateruma Airport (HTR) is Ishigaki Airport (ISG), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) NE of HTR.
• Because of Hateruma Airport's relatively low elevation of 43 feet, planes can take off or land at Hateruma 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.
• Hateruma Airport (HTR) currently has only 1 runway.