Nonstop flight route between Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Chicago, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 298 miles (or 480 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 relatively short distance between Des Moines International Airport and Chicago O'Hare International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Des Moines International Airport (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.
• Des Moines International Airport is a civil-military public airport three miles southwest of Des Moines, in Polk County, Iowa.
• 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.
• 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 airport was originally governed by the City of Des Moines' Parks Department.
• In addition to work inside the passenger terminal, the airport is building a rental car facility and new parking facilities.

Facts about Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD):

• Commercial passenger flights started in 1955 and by the following year O'Hare was served by American, BOAC, Braniff, Capital, Delta, Eastern, North Central, Pan Am, TWA and United, along with freight airlines Riddle and Slick.
• Because of Chicago O'Hare International Airport's relatively low elevation of 668 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago O'Hare 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.
• United and American both established nationwide hubs at the airport in the 1980s, which continue to operate today.
• In the 1980s, after deregulation, TWA replaced Chicago with St.
• The furthest airport from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,071 miles (17,817 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) has 8 runways.
• Until 2005, O'Hare was the world's busiest airport in number of takeoffs and landings.
• Due to the construction of Terminal 1 for United, international flights were relocated to a temporary Terminal 4 from 1984 until 1993.
• Delta moved from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2 in 2009 in order to align its operations with merger partner Northwest Airlines.
• Concourses B and C are linear concourses located in separate buildings parallel to each other.
• The closest airport to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is Chicago Executive Airport (PWK), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) N of ORD.