Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Mota Lava, Vanuatu:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Mota Lava Airport (MTV), Mota Lava, Vanuatu would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,655 miles (or 12,319 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 Mota Lava 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 Mota Lava 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):

• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• 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 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.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.

Facts about Mota Lava Airport (MTV):

• The furthest airport from Mota Lava Airport (MTV) is Kédougou Airport (KGG), which is nearly antipodal to Mota Lava Airport (meaning Mota Lava Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kédougou Airport), and is located 12,361 miles (19,893 kilometers) away in Kédougou, Senegal.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 63 feet above mean sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Mota Lava Airport", another name for MTV is "Valua Airport".
• Out of the four airports in the Torba province, Valua Airport has the length and reliability advantage.
• The closest airport to Mota Lava Airport (MTV) is Vanua Lava Airport (SLH), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SW of MTV.
• Because of Mota Lava Airport's relatively low elevation of 63 feet, planes can take off or land at Mota Lava 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.
• Valua airport is 12 km away from the island's main center.