Nonstop flight route between Christmas Island, Kiribati and Great Falls, Montana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cassidy International Airport (CXI), Christmas Island, Kiribati and Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,177 miles (or 6,722 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 Cassidy International Airport and Malmstrom 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 Cassidy International Airport and Malmstrom 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 Cassidy International Airport (CXI):

• The airport is served by Fiji Airways from Nadi, Fiji and Honolulu, United States.
• The furthest airport from Cassidy International Airport (CXI) is Ikela Airport (IKL), which is nearly antipodal to Cassidy International Airport (meaning Cassidy International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ikela Airport), and is located 12,367 miles (19,903 kilometers) away in Ikela, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Cassidy International Airport (CXI) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Cassidy International Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Cassidy 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.
• The closest airport to Cassidy International Airport (CXI) is Manihiki Island Airport (MHX), which is located 891 miles (1,433 kilometers) SSW of CXI.

Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• The closest airport to Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Great Falls International Airport (GTF), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of GFA.
• Originally named Great Falls Army Air Base, later Great Falls Air Force Base, the facility was renamed Malmstrom Air Force Base on 1 October 1955 in honor of Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom.
• The furthest airport from Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,495 miles (16,891 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.
• DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
• After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
• On 3 July 1963, following 28 months of construction, the wing and its three squadrons became operational.
• Great Falls became the temporary home of the 582nd Air Resupply and Communications Wing on 1 May 1953 which was transferred from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.