Nonstop flight route between Athens, Greece and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH), Athens, Greece and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,495 miles (or 8,843 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 Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" and Grand Forks Air Force Base, 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 Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" and Grand Forks Air Force Base. 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 Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH):

• Because of Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos"'s relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" 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.
• Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH) has 2 runways.
• Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" handled 12,536,038 passengers last year.
• A rail station is immediately adjacent to the airport terminal, accessible by an elevated walkway.
• The closest airport to Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH) is Porto Kheli Airport (PKH), which is located 62 miles (100 kilometers) SW of ATH.
• The furthest airport from Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,330 miles (18,234 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• The Main Terminal Building handles the all intra-Schengen flights, as well as several non-Schengen flights.
• Athens International Airport is the busiest airport in Greece, and in 2013 was the 35th busiest airport in Europe, handling around 12.5 million passengers.
• The Greek fast food company Goody's S.A.
• In addition to being known as "Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos"", another name for ATH is "Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνών "Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος"".

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.
• 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.
• On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
• 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.
• Grand Forks Air Force Base was established on 1 December 1955, with construction beginning in the fall of that year.
• During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
• The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.
• With the restructuring of the Air Force and the disestablishment of SAC in 1992, the wing transferred to Air Combat Command, then came under Air Force Space Command in 1993.