Nonstop flight route between Del Rio, Texas, United States and Melilla, (Spanish exclave in Morocco):

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF), Del Rio, Texas, United States and Melilla Airport (MLN), Melilla, (Spanish exclave in Morocco) would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,476 miles (or 8,813 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 Melilla 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 Melilla 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):

• 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.
• There were 651 households out of which 56.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 82.8% were married couples living together, 3.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.3% were non-families.
• 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.
• Laughlin Air Force Base reopened on May 1, 1952.
• 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.
• Park University offers onsite and online classes on base.

Facts about Melilla Airport (MLN):

• In 1969, the current airport was opened within Melilla's borders and was strictly a civilian facility.
• In addition to being known as "Melilla Airport", another name for MLN is "Aeropuerto de Melilla".
• Melilla Airport (MLN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Melilla Airport's relatively low elevation of 156 feet, planes can take off or land at Melilla 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 Melilla Airport (MLN) is Cherif Al Idrissi Airport (AHU), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) W of MLN.
• The furthest airport from Melilla Airport (MLN) is Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ), which is nearly antipodal to Melilla Airport (meaning Melilla Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Great Barrier Aerodrome), and is located 12,326 miles (19,837 kilometers) away in Great Barrier Island, New Zealand.