Nonstop flight route between Cartagena, Colombia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG), Cartagena, Colombia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,887 miles (or 4,646 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 Rafael Núñez International 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 Rafael Núñez International 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 Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG):

• The closest airport to Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG) is Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ), which is located 59 miles (94 kilometers) ENE of CTG.
• The furthest airport from Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG) is Christmas Island Airport (XCH), which is nearly antipodal to Rafael Núñez International Airport (meaning Rafael Núñez International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Christmas Island Airport), and is located 12,355 miles (19,883 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Australia.
• Rafael Núñez International Airport (CTG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The first flight took place on February 14, 1920 when the plane "Cartagena" in charge of pilots Jourdanet Jacques René Bazin and began a flight around the city, carrying as passengers to Guillermo Echavarria Martinez Martelo Tulita and Queen of Carnival.
• Because of Rafael Núñez International Airport's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Rafael Núñez 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.
• In December 1946 it was inaugurated with great pomp Crespo Air Field in the city of Cartagena, which had been built by that subsidiary airport.
• In addition to being known as "Rafael Núñez International Airport", another name for CTG is "Aeropuerto Internacional Rafael Núñez".

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• The 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.
• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.