Nonstop flight route between Columbus, Mississippi, United States and Al Najaf, Iraq:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Columbus Air Force Base (CBM), Columbus, Mississippi, United States and Al Najaf International Airport (NJF), Al Najaf, Iraq would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,962 miles (or 11,204 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 Columbus Air Force Base and Al Najaf 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 Columbus Air Force Base and Al Najaf 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 Columbus Air Force Base (CBM):

• The first KC-135 Stratotanker, piloted by the wing commander, landed on the new runway on 7 January 1959.
• In 1965 the 454th converted to B-52D, which was re-engineered for conventional bomb missions over Southeast Asia, although some B-52Cs were also assigned during 1968–69.
• In addition, Columbus Air Force Base was designated as an alternate NASA Space Shuttle Landing Site when that program was in operation.
• In addition to being known as "Columbus Air Force Base", another name for CBM is "Columbus AFB".
• The closest airport to Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (UBS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of CBM.
• Columbus AFB was established in 1941 as Air Corps Advanced Flying School, Columbus, Mississippi.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,088 miles (17,844 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The Columbus flying school received its first aircraft, nine Beech AT-10s and twenty-one AT-8s in early 1942.

Facts about Al Najaf International Airport (NJF):

• The furthest airport from Al Najaf International Airport (NJF) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,820 miles (19,022 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Al Najaf International Airport (NJF) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 20 July 2008 the Najaf Authorities hosted the ceremonial opening attended by the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki who stepped out of the first official plane.
• The closest airport to Al Najaf International Airport (NJF) is Baghdad International Airport (BGW), which is located 88 miles (142 kilometers) N of NJF.