Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Geneva, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Geneva International Airport (GVA), Geneva, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,282 miles (or 8,500 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 Gray Army Airfield and Geneva 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 Gray Army Airfield and Geneva 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 Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
• Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, conducts high-altitude search-and-rescue operations.
• The closest airport to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of GRF.
• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
• The furthest airport from Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,809 miles (17,395 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Gray Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 300 feet, planes can take off or land at Gray Army Airfield 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.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• The 1938 construction included two paved runways, a boiler plant, headquarters building, metal balloon hangar, six-plane hangar, corrugated-iron hangar, storehouse, flight-surgeon office, and film-storage building.

Facts about Geneva International Airport (GVA):

• Despite there never being a regular Concorde service in Switzerland, the supersonic aircraft twice landed in Geneva.
• Geneva International Airport handled 14,436,000 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Geneva International Airport (GVA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Geneva International Airport (meaning Geneva International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,227 miles (19,678 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• A new terminal project named 'Aile Est' starting in 2012, will modernize and extend Pier C following a complete reconstruction.
• In addition to being known as "Geneva International Airport", another name for GVA is "Aéroport international de GenèveGenève aéroport".
• Geneva airport was created in 1919 as a simple field in Cointrin, near the city of Geneva.
• The closest airport to Geneva International Airport (GVA) is Annemasse Aerodrome (QNJ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of GVA.
• The airport has a single concrete runway, which is the longest in Switzerland with a length of 3,900 m, and a smaller, parallel, grass runway for light aircraft.
• Geneva International Airport (GVA) has 2 runways.