Nonstop flight route between Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Tripoli, Libya:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Tripoli International Airport (TIP), Tripoli, Libya would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,520 miles (or 8,883 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 Tripoli 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 Tripoli 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.
• This airport is in in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport.
• 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 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 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 Des Moines Terminal has 2 concourses.

Facts about Tripoli International Airport (TIP):

• Tripoli International Airport (TIP) has 2 runways.
• The airport operates 24 hours a day.
• Tripoli International Airport handled 3,070,200 passengers last year.
• Because of Tripoli International Airport's relatively low elevation of 263 feet, planes can take off or land at Tripoli 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 Tripoli International Airport (TIP) is Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), which is located 11,534 miles (18,563 kilometers) away in Avarua, Cook Islands.
• In addition to being known as "Tripoli International Airport", another name for TIP is "مطار طرابلس العالمي".
• Anti-Gaddafi forces captured the airport during their advance on Tripoli on 21 August 2011.
• The closest airport to Tripoli International Airport (TIP) is Mitiga International Airport (MJI), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) NNE of TIP.