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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Rotorua International Airport (ROT), Rotorua, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,166 miles (or 14,751 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 Rotorua International 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 Rotorua International 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):

• There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to the base.
• The ratification of the treaty in 1951 did not change much, except that the Danish national flag Dannebrog must be side by side with Stars and Stripes on the base.
• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• Thule Air Base has served as the regional hub for nearby installations, including Cape Atholl, Camp Century, Camp TUTO, Sites 1 and 2, P-Mountain, J-Site, North and South Mountains, and a research rocket firing site.
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• 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.
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from the base.
• 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.
• 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".

Facts about Rotorua International Airport (ROT):

• The closest airport to Rotorua International Airport (ROT) is Tauranga Airport (TRG), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) NNW of ROT.
• Rotorua International Airport (ROT) has 2 runways.
• Rotorua International Airport handled 227,578 passengers last year.
• The airport is located around 9.17 kilometres northeast of Rotorua on Te Ngae Road.
• The furthest airport from Rotorua International Airport (ROT) is Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM), which is nearly antipodal to Rotorua International Airport (meaning Rotorua International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ciudad Real Central Airport), and is located 12,383 miles (19,928 kilometers) away in Ciudad Real, Spain.
• Rotorua has two runways.
• Because of Rotorua International Airport's relatively low elevation of 936 feet, planes can take off or land at Rotorua International 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.