Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Santiago de Compostela, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ), Santiago de Compostela, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,036 miles (or 8,105 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 Santiago de Compostela 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 Santiago de Compostela 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):

• 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.
• In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
• GAAF units have served in Iraq with Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, returning from a 15 month deployment on April 17, 2004.
• 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.
• The 91st Observation Squadron and aircraft of the 3rd Balloon Squadron operated out of the Fort Lewis airfield.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The field is named in honor of Captain Lawrence C.
• After the Korean War, the 2d Aviation Company, of the 2d Infantry Division, which had been the first helicopter unit in Korea, returned to Fort Lewis with observation/spotter aircraft L-19 Bird Dogs, and L-20 Beavers, as well as H-23 Raven helicopters.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• 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.
• 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 Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ):

• In 1981, a cargo terminal was built, giving the airport capacity to handle cargo flights.
• Santiago de Compostela Airport handled 2,194,611 passengers last year.
• Passenger numbers have increased significantly at the airport, from 1.3 million in 2000 to 2.4 in 2011.
• In 1969 A new terminal was built at the airport.
• The furthest airport from Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ) is Hokitika Airport (HKK), which is nearly antipodal to Santiago de Compostela Airport (meaning Santiago de Compostela Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hokitika Airport), and is located 12,404 miles (19,962 kilometers) away in Hokitika, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Santiago de Compostela Airport", another name for SCQ is "Aeroporto de Santiago de Compostela".
• Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 13 October 2011 a new passenger terminal opened at the airport, replacing the old 1969 terminal.
• The closest airport to Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) N of SCQ.