Nonstop flight route between Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Nouadhibou, Mauritania:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Nouadhibou International Airport (NDB), Nouadhibou, Mauritania would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,596 miles (or 7,396 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 Nouadhibou 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 Nouadhibou 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):

• On December 18, 2010, a small red Beechcraft Bonanza crashed while performing an emergency landing at DSM.
• 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 (DSM) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• This airport is in in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport.
• 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.
• Des Moines International Airport covers 2,625 acres at an elevation of 958 feet above mean sea level.
• 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 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.

Facts about Nouadhibou International Airport (NDB):

• The closest airport to Nouadhibou International Airport (NDB) is La Güera Airport (ZLG), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SSW of NDB.
• Because of Nouadhibou International Airport's relatively low elevation of 16 feet, planes can take off or land at Nouadhibou 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 furthest airport from Nouadhibou International Airport (NDB) is Koumac Airport (KOC), which is nearly antipodal to Nouadhibou International Airport (meaning Nouadhibou International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Koumac Airport), and is located 12,349 miles (19,874 kilometers) away in Koumac, New Caledonia.
• Nouadhibou International Airport (NDB) currently has only 1 runway.