Nonstop flight route between Frankfurt, Germany and Watertown, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Frankfurt, Germany and Watertown Regional Airport (ATY), Watertown, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,512 miles (or 7,261 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 Frankfurt Airport and Watertown Regional 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 Frankfurt Airport and Watertown Regional 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 Frankfurt Airport (FRA):

• Plans to build a fourth runway at Frankfurt Airport had been under-way since 1997 but due to the violent conflicts with the building of the third runway, Fraport let residents groups and environmentalists participate in the process to find an agreeable solution.
• The closest airport to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) is Lucius D. Clay KaserneWiesbaden Army AirfieldWiesbaden Air BaseAdvanced Landing Ground Y-80Fliegerhorst Wiesbaden (WIE), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) W of FRA.
• The runway officially went into operation on 20 October 2011, with an aircraft carrying Chancellor Angela Merkel performing the first landing on 21 October.
• Because of Frankfurt Airport's relatively low elevation of 364 feet, planes can take off or land at Frankfurt 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.
• Frankfurt Airport (FRA) has 3 runways.
• The southern side of the airport ground was home to the Rhein-Main Air Base, which was a major air base for the United States from 1947 until 2005, when the air base was closed and the property was acquired by Fraport.
• Planning for a third runway began in 1973.
• Terminal 2 is primarily used by airlines of the oneworld and SkyTeam alliances.
• The furthest airport from Frankfurt Airport (FRA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,946 miles (19,225 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Frankfurt Airport", another name for FRA is "Flughafen Frankfurt am Main".
• Frankfurt Airport handled 5,752,725 passengers last year.
• After the beginning of World War II in 1939 all foreign airlines left the airport and control of air traffic was transferred to the Luftwaffe.

Facts about Watertown Regional Airport (ATY):

• The closest airport to Watertown Regional Airport (ATY) is Brookings Regional Airport (BKX), which is located 45 miles (73 kilometers) SSE of ATY.
• Watertown Regional Airport (ATY) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Watertown Regional Airport (ATY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,571 miles (17,013 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 4,975 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 5,824 in 2009 and 7,814 in 2010.
• In addition to being known as "Watertown Regional Airport", another name for ATY is "Watertown Army Airfield".