Nonstop flight route between Imperial, California, United States and Mbala, Northern Province, Zambia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Imperial County Airport (IPL), Imperial, California, United States and Mbala Airport (MMQ), Mbala, Northern Province, Zambia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,754 miles (or 15,698 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 Imperial County Airport and Mbala 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 Imperial County Airport and Mbala 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 Imperial County Airport (IPL):

• As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 7,061 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 5,641 in 2009, and 4,752 in 2010.
• In addition to being known as "Imperial County Airport", another name for IPL is "Boley Field".
• Imperial County Airport (IPL) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Imperial County Airport (IPL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,531 miles (18,557 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Its first airline flights were Bonanza DC-3s about 1953.
• Because of Imperial County Airport's relatively low elevation of -54 feet, planes can take off or land at Imperial County 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.
• Imperial County Airport covers an area of 370 acres at an elevation of 54 feet below mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Imperial County Airport (IPL) is Naval Air Facility El Centro (NJK), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) W of IPL.

Facts about Mbala Airport (MMQ):

• The furthest airport from Mbala Airport (MMQ) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,674 miles (18,788 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Mbala Airport (MMQ) is Kasaba Bay Airport (ZKB), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) WNW of MMQ.
• Mbala Airport (MMQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Mbala Airport's high elevation of 5,454 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MMQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MMQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.