Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Gaoua, Burkina Faso:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Gaoua Airport (XGA), Gaoua, Burkina Faso would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,136 miles (or 8,265 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 Gaoua 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 Gaoua 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 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.
• Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.
• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about Gaoua Airport (XGA):

• Gaoua Airport (XGA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Gaoua Airport (XGA) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Gaoua Airport (meaning Gaoua Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,231 miles (19,684 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.
• The closest airport to Gaoua Airport (XGA) is Diébougou Airport (XDE), which is located 39 miles (64 kilometers) N of XGA.