Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Nagasaki, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Nagasaki Airport (NGS), Nagasaki, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,832 miles (or 7,776 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 Nagasaki 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 Nagasaki 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• A delegation from NATO's Parliamentary Assembly visited Thule in early September 2010 and were told by the base commander that, at that time, approximately 600 personnel were serving at Thule, a mix of mostly U.S.
• In 1957 construction began on 4 Nike Missile sites around the base, and they and their radar systems were operational by the end of 1958.
• 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".

Facts about Nagasaki Airport (NGS):

• The current island runway and terminal opened on May 1, 1975.
• Because of Nagasaki Airport's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at Nagasaki 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 mainland portion of the airport opened as a military aerodrome in 1923, and commenced civilian joint use as Omura Airport in 1955.
• Nagasaki Airport (NGS) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Nagasaki Airport (NGS) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Nagasaki Airport (meaning Nagasaki Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,303 miles (19,799 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Nagasaki Airport (NGS) is Saga Airport (HSG), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) NE of NGS.
• In addition to being known as "Nagasaki Airport", other names for NGS include "長崎空港" and "Nagasaki Kūkō".