Nonstop flight route between Tucson, Arizona, United States and Vientiane, Laos:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA), Tucson, Arizona, United States and Wattay International Airport (VTE), Vientiane, Laos would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,325 miles (or 13,398 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 Davis–Monthan Air Force Base and Wattay 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 Davis–Monthan Air Force Base and Wattay 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 Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA):

• On 2 March 1949, the Lucky Lady II, a B-50A of the 43d Bombardment Wing, completed the first nonstop round-the-world flight, having covered 23,452 miles in 94 hours and 1 minute.
• On 1 October 1976, the base was transferred to Tactical Air Command after 30 years under SAC.
• Davis–Monthan Air Force Base is a key ACC installation.
• The closest airport to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA) is Tucson International Airport (TUS), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SW of DMA.
• The furthest airport from Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DMA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,508 miles (18,521 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Davis-Monthan Airport became Tucson Army Air Field in 1940, as the United States prepared for World War II.
• Military presence at the field began when Sergeant Simpson relocated his fuel and service operation to the site on 6 October 1927.
• In the 1990s, the 355 TTW continued to train A-10 crews for assignments to units in the United States, England, and Korea.

Facts about Wattay International Airport (VTE):

• In addition to being known as "Wattay International Airport", other names for VTE include "ສະໜາມບິນສາກົນວັດໄຕ" and "สนามบินนานาชาติวัตไต".
• The furthest airport from Wattay International Airport (VTE) is Maria Reiche Neuman Airport (NZC), which is nearly antipodal to Wattay International Airport (meaning Wattay International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maria Reiche Neuman Airport), and is located 12,165 miles (19,578 kilometers) away in Nazca, Ica Region, Peru.
• Because of Wattay International Airport's relatively low elevation of 564 feet, planes can take off or land at Wattay 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 airport has a bonded warehouse building for air cargo passing through the airport.
• Wattay International Airport (VTE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Wattay International Airport (VTE) is Udon Thani International Airport ท่าอากาศยานอุดรธานี (UTH), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) SSE of VTE.