Nonstop flight route between Bedford, Indiana, United States and Berlin, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR), Bedford, Indiana, United States and Berlin Tempelhof Airport (THF), Berlin, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,519 miles (or 7,272 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 Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport and Berlin Tempelhof 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 Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport and Berlin Tempelhof 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 Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR):

• Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR) is Monroe County Airport (BMG), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) NNW of BFR.
• The furthest airport from Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport (BFR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,195 miles (18,016 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport is named in honor of Virgil I.
• Because of Virgil I. Grissom Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 728 feet, planes can take off or land at Virgil I. Grissom Municipal 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.

Facts about Berlin Tempelhof Airport (THF):

• Operation Vittles, as the airlift was unofficially named, began on 26 June when USAF Douglas C-47 Skytrains carried 80 tons of food into Tempelhof, far less than the estimated 4,500 tons of food, coal and other essential supplies needed daily to maintain a minimum level of existence.
• The grass runways usual in Germany until then could not cope with the massive demand, and a subsequently built runway containing perforated steel matting began to crumble under the weight of the USAF's C-54 Skymasters.
• Tempelhof Airport closed all operations on 30 October 2008, despite the efforts of some protesters to prevent the closure.
• The furthest airport from Berlin Tempelhof Airport (THF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,687 miles (18,808 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Berlin Tempelhof Airport's relatively low elevation of 164 feet, planes can take off or land at Berlin Tempelhof 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.
• On 21 April 1945, Deutsche Luft Hansa operated its last scheduled flights, and over the coming days laid on additional non-scheduled flights from Johannisthal Air Field which stopped over at Tempelhof to take on freight en route to Travemünde and Munich, where Luft Hansa had relocated its headquarters.
• 1950 was also the year Air France joined Pan Am at Tempelhof.
• The closest airport to Berlin Tempelhof Airport (THF) is Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) NW of THF.
• The 852nd Engineer Aviation Battalion arrived at Tempelhof on 10 July 1945 and conducted the original repairs in the new terminal.
• Berlin Tempelhof Airport (THF) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Berlin Tempelhof Airport", another name for THF is "Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof".
• The new air terminal was designed as headquarters for Deutsche Luft Hansa, the German national airline at that time.