Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Flanders, Belgium:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST), Flanders, Belgium would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,580 miles (or 7,371 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 Ostend-Bruges 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base and Ostend-Bruges 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 Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• 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.
• 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.
• Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place in Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana, United States.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• Great Falls AAB was assigned to II Bomber Command, Second Air Force.
• On 18 December 1953, Great Falls AFB was transferred from Military Air Transport Service to Strategic Air Command, although MATS units remained at the base for several years.
• 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.
• 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 Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST):

• In 1992, the ownership of the regional Flemish airport was transferred from the Belgian State to the Flemish Region.
• On 1 May 2003, Ryanair started a new route between Ostend and London-Stansted.
• Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) is Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airfield (XDK), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SW of OST.
• Because of Ostend-Bruges International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Ostend-Bruges 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.
• Ostend-Bruges International Airport handled 678,638 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,925 miles (19,192 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.