Nonstop flight route between Oral (Uralsk), Kazakhstan and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Oral Ak Zhol Airport (URA), Oral (Uralsk), Kazakhstan and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,238 miles (or 5,211 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 Oral Ak Zhol 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 Oral Ak Zhol 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 Oral Ak Zhol Airport (URA):

• Oral Ak Zhol Airport (URA) has 4 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Oral Ak Zhol Airport", another name for URA is "Uralsk Airport".
• The closest airport to Oral Ak Zhol Airport (URA) is Balakovo Airport (BWO), which is located 170 miles (274 kilometers) WNW of URA.
• The furthest airport from Oral Ak Zhol Airport (URA) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Because of Oral Ak Zhol Airport's relatively low elevation of 125 feet, planes can take off or land at Oral Ak Zhol 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.

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 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km northeast of main base.
• 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 addition to being known as "Thule Air Base", another name for THU is "Thule AB".
• 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.
• 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.