Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Sharjah International Airport (SHJ), Sharjah, United Arab Emirates would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,432 miles (or 11,961 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 Sharjah 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 Sharjah 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• World War II cantonment construction involved the demolition of some of the pre-1941 buildings.
• 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 9th Cavalry Brigade in the 1980s developed air-assault strategies with their AH-1 Cobra helicopters based upon experiences learned in Vietnam.
• In October 1921 Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” biplanes flew from the Naval Station at Sand Point to a grass airfield at what was then called "Camp Lewis", located at a site just west of today’s Gray AAF.

Facts about Sharjah International Airport (SHJ):

• Sharjah Airport is the second largest Middle East airfreight hub in cargo tonnage, according to official 2009 statistics from Airports Council International.
• The closest airport to Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) is Dubai International Airport (DXB), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) WSW of SHJ.
• Because of Sharjah International Airport's relatively low elevation of 116 feet, planes can take off or land at Sharjah 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.
• In addition to being known as "Sharjah International Airport", another name for SHJ is "مطار الشارقة الدولي".
• The furthest airport from Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,763 miles (18,931 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Sharjah International Airport is home base of the low-cost carrier Air Arabia.
• The airport was used by the United States Air Force 926th Tactical Fighter Group during Operation Desert Shield/Storm.
• Sharjah International Airport handled 7,516,538 passengers last year.