Nonstop flight route between Afutara, Solomon Islands and Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Afutara Airport (AFT), Afutara, Solomon Islands and Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST), Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,227 miles (or 14,849 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 Afutara Airport and Maastricht Aachen 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 Afutara Airport and Maastricht Aachen 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 Afutara Airport (AFT):

• The closest airport to Afutara Airport (AFT) is Uru Harbour Airport (ATD), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) N of AFT.
• The furthest airport from Afutara Airport (AFT) is Bubaque Airport (BQE), which is nearly antipodal to Afutara Airport (meaning Afutara Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bubaque Airport), and is located 12,174 miles (19,593 kilometers) away in Bubaque, Guinea-Bissau.

Facts about Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST):

• An ILS system, which allows landings in poor weather, was built in 1967, for runway 22 only.
• The furthest airport from Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,935 miles (19,207 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Maastricht Aachen Airport's relatively low elevation of 375 feet, planes can take off or land at Maastricht Aachen 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.
• The closest airport to Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) is NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ENE of MST.
• In March 2011, the airport was certified to handle the upcoming Boeing 747-8, as two of the airports major airlines Cargolux and AirBridge Cargo have placed orders for this aircraft.
• In 1981, a development plan for the airport recommended constructing a 3,500m east–west runway to facilitate growth in cargo operations, particularly during the night hours.
• The first unit to be based at the field was the 31st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, flying the F-6, a reconnaissance version of the P-51 Mustang.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) currently has only 1 runway.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport handled 36,300 passengers last year.
• Around 1980 the airport changed its name to "Maastricht Airport".
• Domestic travel picked up as well, and newly created NLM CityHopper started to operate a service between Maastricht and Amsterdam Schiphol in 1966.