Nonstop flight route between Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Maseru, Lesotho:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU), Maseru, Lesotho would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,093 miles (or 14,633 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 Moshoeshoe I 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 Moshoeshoe I 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 Des Moines International Airport (DSM):

• 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.
• Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.
• On December 18, 2010, a small red Beechcraft Bonanza crashed while performing an emergency landing at DSM.
• This airport is in in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport.
• In addition to work inside the passenger terminal, the airport is building a rental car facility and new parking facilities.
• As of March 2014, Delta Air Lines handled of DSM passengers, followed by United Airlines, American Airlines, US Airways, Southwest Airlines, Allegiant Airlines, and Frontier Airlines.
• 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 Des Moines Terminal has 2 concourses.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 2012, the airport had 1,038,484 enplanementsFederal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 919,990 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 853,596 in 2009 and 932,828 in 2011.
• Des Moines International Airport covers 2,625 acres at an elevation of 958 feet above mean sea level.

Facts about Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU):

• The closest airport to Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU) is Mafeteng Airport (MFC), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SW of MSU.
• Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU) has 2 runways.
• Because of Moshoeshoe I International Airport's high elevation of 5,348 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MSU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MSU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,801 miles (18,991 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.