Nonstop flight route between Hilo, Hawaii, United States and Tampa, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hilo International Airport (ITO), Hilo, Hawaii, United States and MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,557 miles (or 7,333 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 Hilo International Airport and MacDill 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 Hilo International Airport and MacDill 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 Hilo International Airport (ITO):

• The main passenger terminal consists of three interconnected buildings totaling approximately 220,000 square feet.
• Hilo International Airport (ITO) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Hilo International Airport (meaning Hilo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,336 miles (19,854 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• Although designed as the second gateway into and out of Hawaiʻi, for many years Hilo had been Hawaiʻi's only major airport lacking non-stop flights to North America.
• Over 95% of aircraft operations take place on Runway 8-26 because the orientation of Runway 3-21 makes direct flights over residential and commercial areas unavoidable.
• The end of the war did not immediately bring about a return to civilian control of General Lyman Field.
• During the late 1950s Territorial leaders anticipated a boom in tourism, prompting plans for a second airport capable of accommodating large jet aircraft.
• Because of Hilo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 38 feet, planes can take off or land at Hilo 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.
• Hilo International Airport handled 1,279,342 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) W of ITO.
• Efforts finally had some success on April 28, 2006, when ATA Airlines re-established daily non-stop service between Hilo and Oakland International Airport in California aboard its Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
• A groundbreaking ceremony for a new terminal building was held on July 17, 1952.
• Hilo International Airport has two runways.

Facts about MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):

• The furthest airport from MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• With the end of hostilities in September 1945 the training B-29 aircrew training program began to slow down.
• The closest airport to MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of MCF.
• MacDill AFB was established in 1939 as Southeast Air Base, Tampa.
• Also located at MacDill are a division of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Joint Communications Support Element, the Florida Air National Guard's 290th Joint Communications Support Squadron, the Navy Reserve Forces Command's Navy Operational Support Center Tampa, the US Army's 297th Military Intelligence Battalion, the Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory, activities of the U.S.
• Estimates of the number of crew members trained at the base during the war vary from 50,000 to 120,000, with as many as 15,000 troops were stationed at MacDill Field at one time.
• It was the B-26 that earned the slogan "one a day in Tampa Bay." The aircraft proved hard to fly and land by many pilots due to its short wings, high landing speeds, and fighter plane maneuverability.
• Flying operations at MacDill began in 1941 with the base's first mission being the defense of Gulf of Mexico.
• In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".