Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Arxan, Inner Mongolia, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Arxan Yi'ershi Airport (YIE), Arxan, Inner Mongolia, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,872 miles (or 6,231 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 Arxan Yi'ershi 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 Arxan Yi'ershi 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to 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.
• After the German occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, Henrik Kauffmann Danish Ambassador to the United States, made an agreement "In the name of the king" with the United States authorizing the United States to defend the Danish colonies on Greenland from German aggression - this agreement faced Kaufmann with a charge of high treason.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Arxan Yi'ershi Airport (YIE):

• The closest airport to Arxan Yi'ershi Airport (YIE) is Ulanhot Airport (HLH), which is located 126 miles (202 kilometers) SE of YIE.
• In addition to being known as "Arxan Yi'ershi Airport", other names for YIE include "阿尔山伊尔施机场", "Ā'ěrshān Yī'ěrshī Jīchǎng" and "ZBES".
• The furthest airport from Arxan Yi'ershi Airport (YIE) is Puerto Deseado Airport (PUD), which is nearly antipodal to Arxan Yi'ershi Airport (meaning Arxan Yi'ershi Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Puerto Deseado Airport), and is located 12,164 miles (19,576 kilometers) away in Puerto Deseado, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.
• Arxan Yi'ershi Airport (YIE) currently has only 1 runway.