Nonstop flight route between Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Faro, Portugal:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from DSM to FAO:
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- About this route
- DSM Airport Information
- FAO Airport Information
- Facts about DSM
- Facts about FAO
- Map of Nearest Airports to DSM
- List of Nearest Airports to DSM
- Map of Furthest Airports from DSM
- List of Furthest Airports from DSM
- Map of Nearest Airports to FAO
- List of Nearest Airports to FAO
- Map of Furthest Airports from FAO
- List of Furthest Airports from FAO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Faro International Airport (FAO), Faro, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,397 miles (or 7,076 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 Des Moines International Airport and Faro 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 Des Moines International Airport and Faro International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DSM / KDSM |
Airport Name: | Des Moines International Airport |
Location: | Des Moines, Iowa, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 41°32'2"N by 93°39'47"W |
Area Served: | Des Moines, Iowa |
Operator/Owner: | City of Des Moines |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 958 feet (292 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from DSM |
More Information: | DSM Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FAO / LPFR |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Faro, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°0'51"N by 7°57'56"W |
Area Served: | Faro, Portugal |
Operator/Owner: | ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, S.A. |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 23 feet (7 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from FAO |
More Information: | FAO Maps & Info |
Facts about Des Moines International Airport (DSM):
- Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.
- Des Moines International Airport is a civil-military public airport three miles southwest of Des Moines, in Polk County, Iowa.
- On December 1, 2007, a United Express plane carrying 44 passengers slid off a taxiway while taxiing to the runway for takeoff.
- In addition to work inside the passenger terminal, the airport is building a rental car facility and new parking facilities.
- On December 2, 1978, Douglas C-47A N41447 of SMB Stage Line crashed short of the runway while on a cargo flight from Chicago, Illinois.
- The furthest airport from Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,789 miles (17,363 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The closest airport to Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Ankeny Regional Airport (IKV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNE of DSM.
- Because of Des Moines International Airport's relatively low elevation of 958 feet, planes can take off or land at Des Moines 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 hosts the Des Moines Air National Guard Base and 132d Fighter Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard.
- During the 1920s the Des Moines area had several small private airports for general aviation and airmail.
Facts about Faro International Airport (FAO):
- Because of Faro International Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Faro 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.
- Faro Airport is capable of handling six million passengers a year.
- In addition to being known as "Faro International Airport", another name for FAO is "Aeroporto Internacional de Faro".
- The airport gets very busy during the summer months, namely from March to October, to the extent that the airport becomes a slot coordinated airport.
- The closest airport to Faro International Airport (FAO) is Portimão Airport (PRM), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WNW of FAO.
- Faro International Airport handled 5,672,377 passengers last year.
- The furthest airport from Faro International Airport (FAO) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is nearly antipodal to Faro International Airport (meaning Faro International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dargaville Aerodrome), and is located 12,310 miles (19,810 kilometers) away in Dargaville, New Zealand.
- Faro International Airport (FAO) currently has only 1 runway.