Nonstop flight route between Asmara, Eritrea and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Asmara International Airport (ASM), Asmara, Eritrea and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,972 miles (or 12,829 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 Asmara International Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB, 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 Asmara International Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB. 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 Asmara International Airport (ASM):

• On 7 July 1935, an agreement was signed with Imperial Airways to connect Asmara to Khartoum.
• The closest airport to Asmara International Airport (ASM) is Massawa International Airport (MSW), which is located 41 miles (66 kilometers) NE of ASM.
• Asmara International Airport (ASM) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Asmara International Airport (ASM) is Fangatau Airport (FGU), which is nearly antipodal to Asmara International Airport (meaning Asmara International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fangatau Airport), and is located 12,398 miles (19,952 kilometers) away in Fangatau, French Polynesia.
• Asmara International Airport has capacity restrictions due to its small terminal, short runway and 1.5-mile altitude.
• Because of Asmara International Airport's high elevation of 7,661 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ASM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ASM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Asmara International Airport, formerly known as Yohannes IV International Airport, is an airport in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• The closest airport to McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Gray Army Airfield (GRF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SW of TCM.
• The 62nd Troop Carrier Wing was reassigned to the Military Air Transport Service Continental Division on 1 July 1957 as TAC realigned its transport units.
• The 325th Fighter Group operated two squadrons of F-82F Twin Mustangs from McChord between 1948 and 1950, the first postwar fighter optimized for the air defense interceptor mission.
• Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the 17th Bombardment Group flew anti-submarine patrols off the west coast of the United States with the new North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
• McChord also had large maintenance facilities for Air Technical Service Command during the war, serving served as a P-39 Aircobra modification center April 1944 – May 1945 for lend-lease aircraft being sent to Russia via the Alaska Territory.
• The furthest airport from McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,803 miles (17,386 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of McChord Field/McChord AFB's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at McChord Field/McChord AFB 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 62d Operations Group flies the C-17 Globemaster III transport from McChord Field.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.