Nonstop flight route between Freetown, Sierra Leone and Columbus, New Mexico, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lungi International Airport (FNA), Freetown, Sierra Leone and Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS), Columbus, New Mexico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,163 miles (or 9,918 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 Lungi International Airport and Columbus Municipal 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 Lungi International Airport and Columbus Municipal 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 Lungi International Airport (FNA):

• On June 3, 2007, a helicopter flight from Freetown exploded and crashed on landing at Lungi airport, killing all 22 people on board.
• Because of Lungi International Airport's relatively low elevation of 84 feet, planes can take off or land at Lungi 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.
• Lungi International Airport (FNA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Lungi International Airport handled 167,911 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Lungi International Airport (FNA) is Hastings Airport (HGS), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) SSE of FNA.
• The furthest airport from Lungi International Airport (FNA) is Ulawa Airport (RNA), which is nearly antipodal to Lungi International Airport (meaning Lungi International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ulawa Airport), and is located 12,097 miles (19,468 kilometers) away in Arona, Ulawa Island, Solomon Islands.
• As of May, 2014 the airport had regularly scheduled direct flights to London, Paris, Brussels and most major cities in West Africa.
• Freetown-Lungi International Airport is an international airport located in the coastal town of Lungi, Sierra Leone.

Facts about Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS):

• Pershing crossed the border with 6,600 men a week after the Columbus raid.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,433 miles (18,400 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) is Deming Municipal AirportDeming Army Airfield (DMN), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) N of CUS.
• Today, efforts are being made to restore part of the airport and re-establish it as an active facility for general aviation.
• Because of Columbus Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,024 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CUS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CUS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• During the Mexican Revolution, hundreds of Pancho Villa's horsemen crossed the United States border and raided Columbus, New Mexico on 9 March 1916.
• In addition to being known as "Columbus Municipal Airport", other names for CUS include "Historical Airport", "Modern Airfield" and "0NM0".
• The fliers arrived on 20 April 1916, and found four new Curtiss N-8s, an export version of the JN-4, the latest model of the Jenny.
• The next use of the airfield was when the Department of Commerce refitted the facility as one of its network of Intermediate Landing Fields, which were established in the 1920s & 1930s to serve as emergency landing fields along commercial airways between major cities.
• Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) currently has only 1 runway.