Nonstop flight route between Winter Haven, Florida, United States and Luqa, Malta:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport (GIF), Winter Haven, Florida, United States and Malta International Airport (MLA), Luqa, Malta would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,430 miles (or 8,738 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 Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport and Malta 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 Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport and Malta 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 Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport (GIF):

• The closest airport to Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport (GIF) is Bartow Municipal Airport (BOW), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) SSW of GIF.
• Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport (GIF) has 2 runways.
• Because of Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport's relatively low elevation of 145 feet, planes can take off or land at Winter Haven's Gilbert 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 Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport (GIF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,482 miles (18,478 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• During World War II, Gilbert Field was an auxiliary airfield for the Lakeland School of Aeronautics at the Lakeland Lodwick Field airport.
• In addition to being known as "Winter Haven's Gilbert Airport", another name for GIF is "Winter Haven Municipal Airport".

Facts about Malta International Airport (MLA):

• The furthest airport from Malta International Airport (MLA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The following routes pass through the airport, but are not express services.
• Until the construction of the new air terminal was completed, the Government embarked on a further upgrade of the old air terminal.
• Because of Malta International Airport's relatively low elevation of 300 feet, planes can take off or land at Malta 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.
• The airport car parking has considerably increased during 2009.
• In October 1977, a new and longer runway was launched and works commenced on the extension and refurbishment of the air terminal.
• Malta International Airport handled 405,200 passengers last year.
• Malta International Airport (MLA) has 2 runways.
• Ryanair based one aircraft in Malta from May 2010, increasing to two from May 2012.
• In addition to being known as "Malta International Airport", other names for MLA include "Luqa Airport" and "Valletta Airport".
• All equipment, other than the Doppler Weather Radar, is enhanced by automatic weather stations, of which eight are situated in Malta and Gozo.
• The closest airport to Malta International Airport (MLA) is Xewkija / Gozo Heliport (GZM), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NW of MLA.