Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and El Prat de Llobregat (near Barcelona), Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN), El Prat de Llobregat (near Barcelona), Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,070 miles (or 8,159 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base and Barcelona–El Prat 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base and Barcelona–El Prat 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• On 21 August 1954 the 407th SFW Vice Commander, Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom, died when his T-33 Shooting Star trainer crashed approximately one mile west of the Great Falls Municipal Airport.
• The closest airport to Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Great Falls International Airport (GTF), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of GFA.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• This included one of the greatest technology transfers in the history of the world.
• The furthest airport from Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,495 miles (16,891 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In 1957, under the control of the 801st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, the Malmstrom AFB radar station became operational with AN/FPS-20 search and AN/FPS-6 height-finder radars.
• By 1954, several aircraft control and warning squadrons had been formed at the base.

Facts about Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN):

• Because of Barcelona–El Prat Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Barcelona–El Prat 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.
• Due to the strong drop in air traffic after 1999 and the crisis in the aviation sector in 2001 many charter operations from Girona and Reus were diverted to El Prat, which helped the airport to survive the crisis.
• In addition to being known as "Barcelona–El Prat Airport", another name for BCN is "Aeroport de Barcelona–El Prat".
• Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) has 3 runways.
• Terminal 2 has its own Rodalies Barcelona commuter train station on the line, which runs from the Maçanet-Massanes station every 30 minutes, with major stops at Barcelona Sants railway station and the fairly central Passeig de Gràcia railway station to provide transfer to the Barcelona Metro system, also in Clot station.
• The Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona public bus line 46 runs from Plaça Espanya.
• Low-cost airline traffic grew significantly, especially after the creation of operating bases by Vueling and Clickair at the airport.
• The closest airport to Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) is Sabadell Airport (QSA), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) N of BCN.
• The furthest airport from Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Barcelona–El Prat Airport (meaning Barcelona–El Prat Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,248 miles (19,711 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.