Nonstop flight route between Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Waterford, Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Waterford Airport (WAT), Waterford, Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,907 miles (or 6,288 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 Waterford 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 Waterford 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.
• Des Moines International Airport is a civil-military public airport three miles southwest of Des Moines, in Polk County, Iowa.
• 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.
• This airport is in in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to work inside the passenger terminal, the airport is building a rental car facility and new parking facilities.
• Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.
• Interior renovation work began in 2009 on the airport and concluded in 2010.
• Des Moines International Airport covers 2,625 acres at an elevation of 958 feet above mean sea level.

Facts about Waterford Airport (WAT):

• On 14 May 2007 Aer Arann announced that they would open up a base in Waterford Airport and they also announced services to Birmingham.
• Because of Waterford Airport's relatively low elevation of 119 feet, planes can take off or land at Waterford 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 Waterford Airport (WAT) is Kilkenny Airport (KKY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNW of WAT.
• Passengers numbers through Waterford Airport in 2009 fall due to routes being suspended to Bordeaux, Faro, Malaga and Amsterdam and service reductions on routes to Birmingham, London Luton and Manchester.
• Flybe announced a route to Manchester starting 22 May 2013, which was dropped by Aer Lingus Regional on 6 January.
• The airport opened in 1981 with a 1,200 by 29 m runway for single and twin-engine light aircraft and a portable cabin as terminal building.
• The furthest airport from Waterford Airport (WAT) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is nearly antipodal to Waterford Airport (meaning Waterford Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome), and is located 12,013 miles (19,333 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Waterford Airport", another name for WAT is "Aerfort Phort Láirge".
• Waterford Airport handled 8,000 passengers last year.