Nonstop flight route between Del Rio, Texas, United States and Boosaaso, Somalia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF), Del Rio, Texas, United States and Bender Qassim International Airport (BSA), Boosaaso, Somalia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,987 miles (or 14,464 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 Laughlin Air Force Base and Bender Qassim 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 Laughlin Air Force Base and Bender Qassim 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 Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF):

• Laughlin U-2s were among the first to provide photographic evidence of Soviet missile installations in Cuba in 1962 when 4080th U-2 pilot Major Steve Heyser flew his U-2C over Cuba after taking off from Edwards AFB, California.
• The furthest airport from Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,241 miles (18,091 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• As of the census of 2014, there were 2,225 people, 651 households, and 570 families residing on the base.
• In 1961, Headquarters US Air Force notified Laughlin officials their mission would expand to again include an Air Training Command undergraduate pilot training program.
• The closest airport to Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Del Rio International Airport (DRT), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) W of DLF.
• Another 4080th pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr., perished when his U-2 was hit by shrapnel from a Soviet-made SA-2 on October 22, 1962 while overflying Cuba from McCoy AFB.
• The Air Force transferred jurisdiction of the base to the Strategic Air Command on April 1, 1957 and the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing moved there from Turner Air Force Base, Georgia.
• The median income for a household on the base was $38,625, and the median income for a family was $38,625.

Facts about Bender Qassim International Airport (BSA):

• In 2008, the Puntland government signed a multi-million dollar deal with Dubai's Lootah Group, a regional industrial organization operating in the Middle East and Africa.
• Because of Bender Qassim International Airport's relatively low elevation of 3 feet, planes can take off or land at Bender Qassim 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 Bender Qassim International Airport (BSA) is Candala Airport (CXN), which is located 54 miles (86 kilometers) ENE of BSA.
• Bender Qassim International Airport (BSA) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Bender Qassim International Airport (BSA) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,873 miles (19,107 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• In 2012, a Product-Sharing Agreement signed between the Puntland government and the Australian oil company Range Resources earmarked $5 million for the construction of an airport runway.
• Construction of the Bender Qassim International Airport started in 2007.