Nonstop flight route between Ta'if, Saudi Arabia and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF), Ta'if, Saudi Arabia and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,075 miles (or 8,168 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 Ta'if Regional Airport and Thule Air Base, 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 Ta'if Regional Airport and Thule Air Base. 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 Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF):

• The closest airport to Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF) is King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED), which is located 90 miles (145 kilometers) W of TIF.
• The furthest airport from Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF) is Tureira Airport (ZTA), which is nearly antipodal to Ta'if Regional Airport (meaning Ta'if Regional Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tureira Airport), and is located 12,361 miles (19,893 kilometers) away in Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
• Because of Ta'if Regional Airport's high elevation of 4,848 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at TIF. Combined with a high temperature, this could make TIF a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Ta'if Regional Airport (TIF) has 2 runways.

Facts about Thule Air Base (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.
• A cluster of huts known as Pituffik stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951.
• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• 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.
• Late 1950s the DEW 1 to 4 where build as "weather stations", Thule Air Base would act as an supply station for the DYE bases.
• 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".
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• 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.