Nonstop flight route between Alajeró / San Sebastián, Canary Islands, Spain and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between La Gomera Airport (GMZ), Alajeró / San Sebastián, Canary Islands, Spain and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,372 miles (or 7,035 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 La Gomera Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, 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 La Gomera Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base. 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 La Gomera Airport (GMZ):

• In addition to being known as "La Gomera Airport", another name for GMZ is "La Gomera Airport ODB".
• La Gomera Airport (GMZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from La Gomera Airport (GMZ) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to La Gomera Airport (meaning La Gomera Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,116 miles (19,499 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• In the year 1962, the island had a lot of sanitary assistance problems, so studies to build an airport in the island were started, but this project was not carried out until 1975.
• The closest airport to La Gomera Airport (GMZ) is Tenerife-South Airport (TFS), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) E of GMZ.
• Although 34 km from the island capital, the airport was located here to avoid disturbing the Garajonay National Park and avoid the cloudier and foggier climate to the North of the island, whilst the volcanic terrain gives few suitable sites anywhere on La Gomera, although even this site required extensive embankments at both ends of the runway.
• Because of La Gomera Airport's relatively low elevation of 716 feet, planes can take off or land at La Gomera 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.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Following the departure of the last B-1B aircraft in 1994, the base transferred to the new Air Mobility Command and the 319th Bomb Wing was redesignated as the 319th Air Refueling Wing.
• During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.
• On 18 February 1957, the 478th Fighter Group was activated at Grand Forks.
• On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
• The closest airport to Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.