Nonstop flight route between Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Pelotas International Airport (PET), Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,704 miles (or 9,180 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 Pelotas 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 Pelotas 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):

• 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.
• 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 (DSM) has 2 runways.
• In 2011, the City of Des Moines transferred control from the city to the Des Moines Airport Authority.
• On March 13, 2008, an Atlanta-bound ASA flight was delayed more than five hours when a mouse was discovered shortly before take-off from 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 closest airport to Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Ankeny Regional Airport (IKV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNE of DSM.

Facts about Pelotas International Airport (PET):

• Pelotas is commonly used by the Brazilian Air Force as the last stop in Brazil on their flights to the Brazilian Antarctic Base.
• The closest airport to Pelotas International Airport (PET) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSE of PET.
• Pelotas International Airport (PET) has 2 runways.
• Because of Pelotas International Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Pelotas 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 Pelotas International Airport (PET) is Fukue Airport (FUJ), which is nearly antipodal to Pelotas International Airport (meaning Pelotas International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fukue Airport), and is located 12,342 miles (19,863 kilometers) away in Gotō, Nagasaki, Japan.
• Pelotas International Airport handled 9,965 passengers last year.
• On June 22, 1927 the city of Pelotas received the first official commercial passenger flight operated by the first Brazilian airline, Varig, founded only a month earlier.
• It is operated by Infraero.
• In addition to being known as "Pelotas International Airport", another name for PET is "Aeroporto Internacional de Pelotas".