Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Waterford, Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Waterford Airport (WAT), Waterford, Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,229 miles (or 6,806 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 Waterford 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 Waterford 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):

• 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.
• By 1954, several aircraft control and warning squadrons had been formed at the base.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• At Great Falls, P-39 Airacobras, C-47 Skytrains, B-25 Mitchells, and A-20 Havocs aircraft.
• Following World War II, Great Falls Army Air Base played an important role in US defense during the Cold War era.
• 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.

Facts about Waterford Airport (WAT):

• Flybe has indicated that the services to Waterford will be in place until at least 2014.
• On 14 March 2012, Aer Arann transferred all of its Waterford routes into the Aer Lingus Regional brand effective from 25 March 2012.
• On 12 August 2013 it was reported that a 150m extension of the runway would be funded by the Department of Transport of up to €400,000.
• In addition to being known as "Waterford Airport", another name for WAT is "Aerfort Phort Láirge".
• Because of Waterford Airport's relatively low elevation of 119 feet, planes can take off or land at Waterford 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 closest airport to Waterford Airport (WAT) is Kilkenny Airport (KKY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNW of WAT.
• The furthest airport from Waterford Airport (WAT) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is nearly antipodal to Waterford Airport (meaning Waterford Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome), and is located 12,013 miles (19,333 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Between 1994 and 1999, Suckling Airways operated to London Luton, and during 1996 Emerald Airways operated services to Liverpool.
• Between 1987 and 1988 Aer Lingus operated services to Dublin.
• On 13 March 2007 a €27.5 million upgrade of Waterford Airport was announced.
• Passengers numbers through Waterford Airport in 2009 fall due to routes being suspended to Bordeaux, Faro, Malaga and Amsterdam and service reductions on routes to Birmingham, London Luton and Manchester.
• Waterford Airport handled 8,000 passengers last year.