Nonstop flight route between Valdez, Alaska, United States and Pituffik, Greenland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valdez Airport (VDZ), Valdez, Alaska, United States and Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,993 miles (or 3,208 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 relatively short distance between Valdez Airport and Thule Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Valdez Airport (VDZ):

• Valdez Airport, also known as Pioneer Field, is a state-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles east of the central business district of Valdez, a city in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area of the U.S.
• Valdez Airport (VDZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Valdez Airport", another name for VDZ is "Pioneer Field".
• The closest airport to Valdez Airport (VDZ) is Tatitlek Airport (TEK), which is located 23 miles (38 kilometers) SW of VDZ.
• The furthest airport from Valdez Airport (VDZ) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,526 miles (16,940 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Because of Valdez Airport's relatively low elevation of 121 feet, planes can take off or land at Valdez 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):

• 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.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of 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.
• Thule Air Base or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport, is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located 1,207 km north of the Arctic Circle and 1,524 km from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland.
• 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".
• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• 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.
• 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.