Nonstop flight route between Birmingham, Alabama, United States and Breda, Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM), Birmingham, Alabama, United States and Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ), Breda, Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,512 miles (or 7,261 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 Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport and Gilze-Rijen 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 Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport and Gilze-Rijen 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 Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM):

• The furthest airport from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,183 miles (17,998 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1973 the current semi-circular terminal was completed west of the 1962 terminal and air traffic control tower.
• Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) has 2 runways.
• Because of Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport's relatively low elevation of 650 feet, planes can take off or land at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth 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.
• Externally, concourse C and concourse B before its demolition was radically different than the terminal structure, consisting of straight radial spokes clad with white panels.
• A ribbon cutting ceremony for the new concourses A and B took place on February 26, 2013.
• By 1959 Runway 5/23 was 10,000 feet and service was started to Birmingham by Capital Airlines with British-made Vickers Viscounts.
• The Southern Museum of Flight is on Airport Authority property, on the east side of the North-South runway.
• The closest airport to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) is St. Clair County Airport (PLR), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) E of BHM.

Facts about Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ):

• The closest airport to Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) is Eindhoven Airport (EIN), which is located 21 miles (33 kilometers) ESE of GLZ.
• Because of Gilze-Rijen Air Base's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Gilze-Rijen 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.
• In 2009, helicopter operations from Soesterberg Air Base were moved to Gilze-Rijen Air Base, which resulted in CH-47 Chinook and AS 532 Cougar helicopters being based at the airfield as well as the Alouette III for VIP transport, making Gilze-Rijen the main operating base for military helicopters in the Netherlands.
• In 1940, the airfield came under heavy attack from the German Luftwaffe, who later took control of the base and expanded it for their own use.
• Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Gilze-Rijen Air Base", another name for GLZ is "(Advanced Landing Ground B-77)".
• In 1946, the Royal Netherlands Air Force resumed operations from the airfield, using it as a training base for pilots and air traffic controllers.
• The furthest airport from Gilze-Rijen Air Base (GLZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,897 miles (19,146 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.