Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Lukulu, Zambia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Lukulu Airport (LXU), Lukulu, Zambia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,215 miles (or 11,612 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 Lukulu 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 Lukulu 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):

• In 1818, Sir John Ross’s expedition made first contact with nomadic Polar Eskimos in the area.
• 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.
• Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay, but the project was made public in September 1952.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 1954, the 378 m Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain.

Facts about Lukulu Airport (LXU):

• The closest airport to Lukulu Airport (LXU) is Zambezi Airport (BBZ), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) N of LXU.
• Lukulu Airport (LXU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lukulu Airport (LXU) is Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA), which is nearly antipodal to Lukulu Airport (meaning Lukulu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kona International Airport at Keāhole), and is located 12,063 miles (19,414 kilometers) away in Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States.