Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Nice, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE), Nice, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,109 miles (or 8,222 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 Nice Côte d'Azur 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 Nice Côte d'Azur 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):

• Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe.
• On 23 December 1959, the Air Force Ballistic Missile Committee approved the selection of Malmstrom AFB to host the first Minuteman ICBM base.
• Following World War II, Great Falls Army Air Base played an important role in US defense during the Cold War era.
• 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.
• After World War II ended Great Falls AAB assumed a support mission for military personnel assigned to Alaskan military installations.
• Later, the 517th Air Transport Wing was redesginated the 1701st Air Transport Wing on 1 June 1948 when Air Transport Command was redesignated the Military Air Transport Service.
• Z-147 was completely replaced by a new ARSR-4 JSS site on Bootlegger Ridge, about 14 miles northeast of Great Falls AFB.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• 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.

Facts about Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE):

• In addition to being known as "Nice Côte d'Azur Airport", another name for NCE is "Aéroport Nice Côte d'Azur".
• Because of Nice Côte d'Azur Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Nice Côte d'Azur 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 furthest airport from Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (meaning Nice Côte d'Azur Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,253 miles (19,720 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE) has 2 runways.
• Nice Côte d'Azur Airport handled 11,222,042 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE) is Monaco Heliport (MCM), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) ENE of NCE.
• In 2013, There were 11,554,195 passengers.
• The airport is positioned 7 km west of the city centre, and is the principal port of arrival for passengers to the Côte d'Azur.