Nonstop flight route between Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Orléans, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Orléans - Bricy Air Base (ORE), Orléans, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,391 miles (or 7,067 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 Orléans - Bricy Air Base, 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 Orléans - Bricy Air Base. 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 closest airport to Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Ankeny Regional Airport (IKV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNE of DSM.
• Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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 is a civil-military public airport three miles southwest of Des Moines, in Polk County, Iowa.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Orléans - Bricy Air Base (ORE):

• After the war, the base was completely rebuilt.
• Orléans - Bricy Air Base (ORE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Orléans - Bricy Air Base (ORE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Orléans - Bricy Air Base (meaning Orléans - Bricy Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,136 miles (19,531 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Orléans-Bricy Air Base was built prior to World War II as a French Air Force facility.
• Because of Orléans - Bricy Air Base's relatively low elevation of 314 feet, planes can take off or land at Orléans - Bricy Air Base 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 closest airport to Orléans - Bricy Air Base (ORE) is Chartres - Champhol Aerodrome (QTJ), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) NNW of ORE.
• In addition to being known as "Orléans - Bricy Air Base", other names for ORE include "Base aérienne 123", "« Commandant Charles Paoli »" and "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-50".