Nonstop flight route between Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ), Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,311 miles (or 3,720 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 Quetzaltenango Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ):

• On 1 November 1998 a Douglas DC-3 carrying 18 crew and passengers crashed near the airport into mountainous terrain.
• Because of Quetzaltenango Airport's high elevation of 7,779 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AAZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AAZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,847 miles (19,066 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• An emergency operations center has been installed at the airport in order to respond faster to disasters like hurricane Stan in the future.
• The closest airport to Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ) is Quiché Airport (AQB), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) ENE of AAZ.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On 26 May 1972, President Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty, which limited each nation to one site to protect strategic forces and one site to protect the "National Command Authority." With work about 85 percent complete at Grand Forks, the United States chose to finish construction at the North Dakota site.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• The closest airport to Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• Opened 57 years ago in early 1957, the base's current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command.