Nonstop flight route between Faro, Portugal and Des Moines, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Faro International Airport (FAO), Faro, Portugal and Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,397 miles (or 7,076 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 Faro International Airport and Des Moines 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 Faro International Airport and Des Moines 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 Faro International Airport (FAO):

• Because of Faro International Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Faro 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.
• A total of 5.6 million passengers used Faro airport in 2011.
• The furthest airport from Faro International Airport (FAO) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is nearly antipodal to Faro International Airport (meaning Faro International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dargaville Aerodrome), and is located 12,310 miles (19,810 kilometers) away in Dargaville, New Zealand.
• Faro International Airport handled 5,672,377 passengers last year.
• Faro International Airport (FAO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport gets very busy during the summer months, namely from March to October, to the extent that the airport becomes a slot coordinated airport.
• The closest airport to Faro International Airport (FAO) is Portimão Airport (PRM), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WNW of FAO.
• In addition to being known as "Faro International Airport", another name for FAO is "Aeroporto Internacional de Faro".

Facts about Des Moines International Airport (DSM):

• 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.
• Interior renovation work began in 2009 on the airport and concluded in 2010.
• 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 covers 2,625 acres at an elevation of 958 feet above mean sea level.
• Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.
• 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 airport hosts the Des Moines Air National Guard Base and 132d Fighter Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard.
• 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.