Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Palanga, Lithuania:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Palanga Airport (PLQ), Palanga, Lithuania would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,774 miles (or 7,683 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 Palanga 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 Palanga 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 addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• Originally named Great Falls Army Air Base, later Great Falls Air Force Base, the facility was renamed Malmstrom Air Force Base on 1 October 1955 in honor of Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom.
• 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 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.
• Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union increased dramatically when the Soviet Union closed all land travel between the western occupation sectors of Germany and the American, French and British sectors of Berlin.
• 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 801st Radar Squadron was inactivated on 31 December 1969 due to budget reductions.

Facts about Palanga Airport (PLQ):

• Palanga Airport (PLQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Infrastructure improvements continued in 2007 with the construction of North terminal to expand the terminals' area by 2000 m2 as well as to comply with Schengen border crossing regimen.
• The closest airport to Palanga Airport (PLQ) is Klaipėda Airport (KLJ), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) SSE of PLQ.
• In addition to being known as "Palanga Airport", another name for PLQ is "Palangos oro uostas".
• The furthest airport from Palanga Airport (PLQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,296 miles (18,179 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• From 1940–1941, and again in 1945–1963, the airport was used by the Air Force of the Soviet Union.
• Palanga International Airport is a minor international airport located near the resort town Palanga at the Baltic Sea.
• Because of Palanga Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Palanga 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.