Nonstop flight route between Bastia, Corsica, France and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bastia – Poretta Airport (BIA), Bastia, Corsica, France and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,765 miles (or 7,669 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 Bastia – Poretta Airport 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 Bastia – Poretta Airport 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 Bastia – Poretta Airport (BIA):

• The closest airport to Bastia – Poretta Airport (BIA) is Calvi - Sainte-Catherine Airport (CLY), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) W of BIA.
• Bastia – Poretta Airport (BIA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Bastia – Poretta Airport (BIA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Bastia – Poretta Airport (meaning Bastia – Poretta Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,125 miles (19,513 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Bastia – Poretta Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Bastia – Poretta 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.
• In addition to being known as "Bastia – Poretta Airport", another name for BIA is "Aéroport de Bastia Poretta".

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• 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.
• 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 26 May 1972, President Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty, which limited each nation to one site to protect strategic forces and one site to protect the "National Command Authority." With work about 85 percent complete at Grand Forks, the United States chose to finish construction at the North Dakota site.