Nonstop flight route between Watertown, South Dakota, United States and Tripoli, Libya:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Watertown Regional Airport (ATY), Watertown, South Dakota, United States and Mitiga International Airport (MJI), Tripoli, Libya would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,518 miles (or 8,881 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 Watertown Regional Airport and Mitiga International 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 Watertown Regional Airport and Mitiga International 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 Watertown Regional Airport (ATY):

• B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator units underwent advanced training before going overseas.
• The closest airport to Watertown Regional Airport (ATY) is Brookings Regional Airport (BKX), which is located 45 miles (73 kilometers) SSE of ATY.
• The furthest airport from Watertown Regional Airport (ATY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,571 miles (17,013 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 4,975 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 5,824 in 2009 and 7,814 in 2010.
• Watertown Regional Airport (ATY) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Watertown Regional Airport", another name for ATY is "Watertown Army Airfield".

Facts about Mitiga International Airport (MJI):

• The airport was originally built in 1923 and served as Mellaha Air Base for the Italian Air Force.
• Mitiga International Airport (MJI) has 2 runways.
• Because of Mitiga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Mitiga International 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 fourteen-hour 9,300-kilometre round trip to Libya required numerous in-air refuelings, because countries closer to Libya – Spain, Italy, France, and Greece – had refused American planes permission to fly over or from bases in their countries.
• In addition to being known as "Mitiga International Airport", another name for MJI is "مطار امعيتيقة الدولي".
• The furthest airport from Mitiga International Airport (MJI) is Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), which is located 11,524 miles (18,546 kilometers) away in Avarua, Cook Islands.
• Mitiga International Airport is an airport in Libya, located about 8 kilometres east of Tripoli's city center that was established in 1995.
• The closest airport to Mitiga International Airport (MJI) is Tripoli International Airport (TIP), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of MJI.
• On 21 August 2011, rebels launched an assault on Mitiga as part of a bid to battle loyalist forces in Tripoli, sustaining a number of casualties in the process
• After 1970, the facility was known as Okba Ben Nafi Air Base, a Libyan People's Air Force installation.