Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and El Vigía, Venezuela:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG), El Vigía, Venezuela would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,693 miles (or 7,553 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 Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso 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 Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso 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):

• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• In 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• 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.
• 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• 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 the winter of 1956/57 three KC-97 tankers and alternately one of two RB-47H aircraft made polar flights to inspect Soviet defenses.

Facts about Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG):

• The furthest airport from Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG) is Tunggul Wulung Airport (CXP), which is nearly antipodal to Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (meaning Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tunggul Wulung Airport), and is located 12,352 miles (19,879 kilometers) away in Cilacap, Java Island, Indonesia.
• The closest airport to Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG) is Miguel Urdaneta Fernández Airport (STB), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) NW of VIG.
• Because of Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport's relatively low elevation of 249 feet, planes can take off or land at Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso 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.
• Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso Airport (VIG) currently has only 1 runway.