Nonstop flight route between Gandajika, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Aviano, Pordenone, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gandajika Airport (GDJ), Gandajika, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Aviano Air Base (AVB), Aviano, Pordenone, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,712 miles (or 5,974 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 Gandajika Airport and Aviano Air Base, 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 Gandajika Airport and Aviano Air Base. 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 Gandajika Airport (GDJ):

• The closest airport to Gandajika Airport (GDJ) is Mbuji Mayi Airport (MJM), which is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) NNW of GDJ.
• The furthest airport from Gandajika Airport (GDJ) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Gandajika Airport (meaning Gandajika Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,097 miles (19,468 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.

Facts about Aviano Air Base (AVB):

• The 31FW received two new squadrons at that time, the 555th and 510th Fighter Squadrons, along with their Block-40 F-16s.
• The furthest airport from Aviano Air Base (AVB) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,968 miles (19,261 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The 31st Maintenance Group provides peacetime and combat maintenance and munitions control, and executive support for the 31st Fighter Wing, geographically separated units under the command and control of the wing, and units gained during advanced stages of readiness.
• In August and September, Operation Deliberate Force began and the 31st FW conducted air strikes against Bosnian Serbs conducting ethnic purges among the Muslim population of the country.
• The closest airport to Aviano Air Base (AVB) is Belluno Airport (BLX), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) WNW of AVB.
• During World War II, both the Italian Air Force and the German Luftwaffe flew missions from Aeroporto Pagliano e Gori.
• From June through December 2001, the fighter squadrons deployed combat search and rescue capabilities three times and helped enforce the no fly zone over Iraq.
• On August 24, 1992, when Hurricane Andrew swept across southern Florida, leaving extensive damage in its wake.
• As part of the most extensive restructuring since the Air Force became a separate service, the Tactical Air Command was inactivated and the Air Combat Command was activated and the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing was redesignated to its current name, the 31st Fighter Wing.
• In addition to being known as "Aviano Air Base", another name for AVB is "Aviano AB".
• In March 2011, the 31st FW played a major role in the United Nations' response to the crisis in Libya, known as Operation Odyssey Dawn, in enforcing no-fly zone UNSR 1973.