Nonstop flight route between Pituffik, Greenland and Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Thule Air Base (THU), Pituffik, Greenland and Hannover Airport (HAJ), Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,549 miles (or 4,103 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 Hannover 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 Hannover 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 the winter of 1956/57 three KC-97 tankers and alternately one of two RB-47H aircraft made polar flights to inspect Soviet defenses.
• 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".
• In 1949, Denmark joined NATO and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases.
• 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.
• There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to the base.
• The closest airport to Thule Air Base (THU) is Savissivik Heliport (SVR), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) ESE of THU.
• Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport.
• 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 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.

Facts about Hannover Airport (HAJ):

• Hannover Flughafen railway station is located beneath Terminal C and features frequent services of S-Bahn line S5 to Hannover city centre.
• Hannover Airport (HAJ) has 3 runways.
• Hannover Airport was opened in Langenhagen in 1952, replacing an old airfield within the city limits of Hannover.
• The furthest airport from Hannover Airport (HAJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,776 miles (18,952 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Hannover Airport (HAJ) is Celle Air Base (ZCN), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of HAJ.
• Because of Hannover Airport's relatively low elevation of 183 feet, planes can take off or land at Hannover 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.
• Hannover Airport is one of very few German airports which are open 24 hours a day, but in practice there are very few flights between 11pm and 4am.
• In the 1990s trials to establish intercontinental services to the United States and Canada were stopped due to low passenger numbers.
• In addition to being known as "Hannover Airport", another name for HAJ is "Flughafen Hannover-Langenhagen".