Nonstop flight route between Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Surat Thani, Thailand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Surat Thani International Airport (URT), Surat Thani, Thailand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,843 miles (or 14,231 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 Surat Thani 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 Surat Thani 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.
• On December 1, 2007, a United Express plane carrying 44 passengers slid off a taxiway while taxiing to the runway for takeoff.
• This airport is in in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport.
• Interior renovation work began in 2009 on the airport and concluded in 2010.
• During the 1920s the Des Moines area had several small private airports for general aviation and airmail.
• 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.
• 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 Surat Thani International Airport (URT):

• On 11 December 1998, Thai Airways International Flight 261, an A310-200 bound for Surat Thani from Bangkok, was making its third landing attempt in heavy rain when it crashed into a rice paddy about 2 miles from the airport.
• In addition to being known as "Surat Thani International Airport", another name for URT is "ท่าอากาศยานสุราษฎร์ธานี".
• Because of Surat Thani International Airport's relatively low elevation of 286 feet, planes can take off or land at Surat Thani 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.
• Surat Thani International Airport (URT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Surat Thani International Airport (URT) is Ranong Airport (UNN), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NW of URT.
• The furthest airport from Surat Thani International Airport (URT) is Capitán FAP Carlos Martínez de Pinillos International Airport (TRU), which is nearly antipodal to Surat Thani International Airport (meaning Surat Thani International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Capitán FAP Carlos Martínez de Pinillos International Airport), and is located 12,297 miles (19,789 kilometers) away in Trujillo, Peru.