Nonstop flight route between Gambell, Alaska, United States and Tripoli, Libya:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gambell Airport (GAM), Gambell, Alaska, United States and Mitiga International Airport (MJI), Tripoli, Libya would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,752 miles (or 9,257 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 Gambell Airport and Mitiga 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 Gambell Airport and Mitiga 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 Gambell Airport (GAM):

• The closest airport to Gambell Airport (GAM) is Savoonga Airport (SVA), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) E of GAM.
• The furthest airport from Gambell Airport (GAM) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,421 miles (16,771 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• On 27 February 1974, a Soviet Union An-24LR carrying a crew of 3 and 10 scientists on an ice-reconnaissance mission landed at Gambell due to fuel exhaustion in bad weather, causing a minor Cold War incident.
• Gambell Airport (GAM) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Gambell Airport", another name for GAM is "(former Gambell Army Airfield)".
• Because of Gambell Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Gambell 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.

Facts about Mitiga International Airport (MJI):

• On 25 October 2011, Google Earth released mutlispectral imagery from Geo Eye taken on 28 August which showed the airfield as well as the highly capable MiG-25 aircraft without any visible damage.
• Because of Mitiga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Mitiga 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 was originally built in 1923 and served as Mellaha Air Base for the Italian Air Force.
• The fourteen-hour 9,300-kilometre round trip to Libya required numerous in-air refuelings, because countries closer to Libya – Spain, Italy, France, and Greece – had refused American planes permission to fly over or from bases in their countries.
• LPAF Soviet-made MiG-17/19/25 fighters and Tu-22 bombers were based at Okba Ben Nafi Air Base.
• Mitiga International Airport (MJI) has 2 runways.
• Alitalia and Turkish Airlines also moved back to Tripoli International after it reopened.
• In addition to being known as "Mitiga International Airport", another name for MJI is "مطار امعيتيقة الدولي".
• On 13 March 2011, Ali Atiyya, a colonel of the Libyan Air Force at the airport, defected and joined the anti-Gaddafi forces.
• The 48 TFW had practiced for years at Wheelus with F-100s and later at Zaragoza AB Spain with F-4D Phantoms and the F-111s for just such a mission.
• The furthest airport from Mitiga International Airport (MJI) is Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), which is located 11,524 miles (18,546 kilometers) away in Avarua, Cook Islands.
• The closest airport to Mitiga International Airport (MJI) is Tripoli International Airport (TIP), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of MJI.