Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Gisenyi, Rwanda:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Gisenyi Airport (GYI), Gisenyi, Rwanda would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,487 miles (or 13,659 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 Gisenyi 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 Gisenyi 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):

• After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
• Great Falls AAB was assigned to II Bomber Command, Second Air Force.
• Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• MATS reopened the C-54 Flight Training School as the 1272 Medium Transition Training Unit in May 1950, one month before the Korean War began.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Gisenyi Airport (GYI):

• Gisenyi Airport (GYI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Gisenyi Airport (GYI) is Goma Airport (GOM), which is located only 2 miles (2 kilometers) WNW of GYI.
• The furthest airport from Gisenyi Airport (GYI) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,980 miles (19,280 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• RwandAir, the national carrier, operated a three weekly service between Gisenyi Airport and Kigali International Airport.
• Because of Gisenyi Airport's high elevation of 5,082 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GYI. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GYI a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.