Nonstop flight route between Ust-Ilimsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ust-Ilimsk (UIK), Ust-Ilimsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,124 miles (or 5,028 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 Ust-Ilimsk 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 Ust-Ilimsk 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 Ust-Ilimsk (UIK):

• The closest airport to Ust-Ilimsk (UIK) is Bratsk Airport (BTK), which is located 126 miles (203 kilometers) SSW of UIK.
• Ust-Ilimsk (UIK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ust-Ilimsk (UIK) is Ushuaia International Airport (USH), which is nearly antipodal to Ust-Ilimsk (meaning Ust-Ilimsk is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ushuaia International Airport), and is located 12,021 miles (19,346 kilometers) away in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

Facts about Thule Air Base (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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi from 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 is the U.S.