Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Kuruman, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH), Kuruman, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,093 miles (or 13,024 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 Johan Pienaar 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 Johan Pienaar 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 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• 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 Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH):

• The furthest airport from Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is nearly antipodal to Johan Pienaar Airport (meaning Johan Pienaar Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Princeville Airport), and is located 12,032 miles (19,364 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Johan Pienaar Airport's high elevation of 4,382 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KMH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KMH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH) is Kimberley Airport (KIM), which is located 124 miles (200 kilometers) SE of KMH.
• Johan Pienaar Airport (KMH) currently has only 1 runway.