Nonstop flight route between Diomede, Alaska, United States and Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO), Diomede, Alaska, United States and Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX), Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,769 miles (or 10,893 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 Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) and Alula Aba Nega 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 Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) and Alula Aba Nega 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 Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO):

• While other emergency services are provided by volunteers and a health aide, the fire and rescue service is provided by Diomede Volunteer Fire Department and First Responders.
• After the Cold War ended in the early 1990s, an interest of reuniting with families across the Bering Strait revived.
• During the Nome gold rush at the turn of the 19th century, Diomede villagers traveled to Nome along with the gold seekers, even though Nome was not a native village.
• Water for winter use is drawn from a mountain spring, then treated and stored in 434,000-U.S.-gallon storage tanks.
• The first non-native to reach the Diomede Islands was a Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnev in 1648.
• The closest airport to Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO) is Wales Airport (WAA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ESE of DIO.
• Because of Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2)'s relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) 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 furthest airport from Diomede Heliport (FAA: DM2) (DIO) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,411 miles (16,755 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.

Facts about Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX):

• Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX) currently has only 1 runway.
• This airport was built in the late 1990s to replace an older one located 7 km from Mek'ele.
• On 22 August 1982, Douglas DC-3 ET-AHP of Ethiopian Airlines was damaged beyond repair in a take-off accident.
• Because of Alula Aba Nega Airport's high elevation of 7,406 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MQX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MQX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Alula Aba Nega Airport", another name for MQX is "አሉላ አባ ነጋ ዓለም አቀፍ የአየር ማረፊያ".
• Alula Aba Nega Airport handled 112,060 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX) is Fangatau Airport (FGU), which is nearly antipodal to Alula Aba Nega Airport (meaning Alula Aba Nega Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fangatau Airport), and is located 12,272 miles (19,750 kilometers) away in Fangatau, French Polynesia.
• The closest airport to Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX) is Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) NW of MQX.