Nonstop flight route between Dakar, Senegal and Houston, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (DKR), Dakar, Senegal and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Houston, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,998 miles (or 8,043 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 Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental 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 Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental 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 Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (DKR):

• In addition to being known as "Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport", another name for DKR is "Aéroport international Léopold-Sédar-Senghor".
• Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport handled 1,500,000 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (DKR) is Kaolack Airport (KLC), which is located 105 miles (168 kilometers) ESE of DKR.
• The airport has often been used as a stopover on flights between North America and Southern Africa.
• The airport is also home to the French Air Force's Dakar-Ouakam Air Base.
• The furthest airport from Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (DKR) is Kirakira Airport (IRA), which is nearly antipodal to Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (meaning Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kirakira Airport), and is located 12,138 miles (19,533 kilometers) away in Kirakira, Makira Island, Solomon Islands.
• Before the introduction of long-range jets in the mid-1970s, it used to be an important stopover point for the routes between Europe and South America, together with the Canary Islands.
• Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (DKR) has 2 runways.
• At one time Air Sénégal International had its head office on the grounds of the airport.
• In 2007, Patrick Smith, author of the Ask the Pilot column for Salon.com, called it the "World's Worst Airport", commenting that he found there "only squalor, an unnerving sense of confinement and to some extent danger".
• Because of Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport's relatively low elevation of 85 feet, planes can take off or land at Léopold Sédar Senghor 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.
• It used to be one of the five main hubs of the now defunct multi-national airline, Air Afrique.

Facts about George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH):

• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) has 5 runways.
• In addition to being known as "George Bush Intercontinental Airport", another name for IAH is "Houston-Intercontinental".
• The IAB, equipped with a Federal Inspection Facility and US Customs services, consolidated all international arrivals into one terminal.
• The food court areas are in the center of each concourse, near the departure gates.
• The Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center, located on the airport grounds at 16600 JFK Boulevard, serves as the region's ARTCC.
• In the late 1980s, Houston City Council considered a plan to rename the airport after Mickey Leland—an African-American congressman who died in an aviation accident in Ethiopia.
• The closest airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of IAH.
• The furthest airport from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,981 miles (17,672 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of George Bush Intercontinental Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at George Bush Intercontinental 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.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport handled 40,128,953 passengers last year.
• On January 7, 2009, a Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 departing Bush Intercontinental was the first U.S.
• On April 24, 2014, Spirit Airlines announced new services from Houston, to 6 new domestic destinations, including Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Kansas City, New Orleans and San Diego.