Nonstop flight route between Bossier City, Louisiana, United States and Leiden, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD), Bossier City, Louisiana, United States and Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID), Leiden, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,796 miles (or 7,718 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 Barksdale Air Force Base and Valkenburg Naval Air 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 Barksdale Air Force Base and Valkenburg Naval Air 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 Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD):

• By the mid-1930s, Barksdale Field was the headquarters and main base of the 3rd Attack Wing, equipped with the Curtiss A-12 and Northrop A-17.
• In the postwar year of the 1940s, Barksdale then became headquarters for the Air Training Command from 1945 to 1949.
• The closest airport to Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD) is Shreveport Downtown Airport (DTN), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) WNW of BAD.
• The host unit at Barksdale is the 2d Bomb Wing, the oldest Bomb Wing in the Air Force.
• The name of the airfield was changed to Barksdale Air Force Base on 13 February 1948, concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch.
• In addition to being known as "Barksdale Air Force Base", another name for BAD is "Barksdale AFB".
• With the arrival of the 376th Bomb wing in October 1951, the decision was made to reassign the 91st.
• The furthest airport from Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,884 miles (17,516 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• As early as 1924, the citizens of Shreveport became interested in hosting a military flying field.
• During World War II, the airfield trained replacement crews and entire units between 1942 and 1945.
• The 2d Bomb Wing was assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command on 1 February 2010.

Facts about Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID):

• The furthest airport from Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• A Zeppelin NT at Valkenburg
• Valkenburg Naval Air Base is a former air base located just south of Valkenburg, which is part of Katwijk and close to the city of Leiden, that was used by the Royal Netherlands Navy up until 2006, being their base for the Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft.
• Because of Valkenburg Naval Air Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Valkenburg Naval Air Base 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 Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID) is Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM), which is located only 15 miles (23 kilometers) S of LID.
• In addition to being known as "Valkenburg Naval Air Base", another name for LID is "Vliegkamp Valkenburg".
• Construction of the air base was commenced in 1939, but not completed before the start of the Second World War.
• Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID) has 2 runways.
• After the war it briefly served as a home for the Royal Netherlands Air Force air transport wing, but in 1947 the Navy received control of the air base.