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):

• Hilo International Airport handled 1,279,342 passengers last year.
• Groundbreaking for a new terminal was held in July 1974.
• 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.
• 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.
• The primary reason for Hilo International Airport's relatively stagnant passenger count is the lack of tourism within the airport's service area, which includes the districts of Hilo and Puna, as well as portions of the districts of Hāmākua and Kaʻū, relative to the Kona district and Kohala district and the islands of Kauaʻi and Maui.
• Hilo International Airport (ITO) has 2 runways.
• The main passenger terminal consists of three interconnected buildings totaling approximately 220,000 square feet.
• The closest airport to Hilo International Airport (ITO) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) W of ITO.
• During martial law in the territory following the attack on Pearl Harbor, all airports in the Hawaiian Islands came under the control of the U.S.

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.
• 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.
• The base also supports the large military retiree community in the Tampa Bay area and surrounding environs.
• Several bases in Florida, including MacDill, served as detention centers for German prisoners-of-war in the latter part of 1944 and 1945.
• Flying operations at MacDill began in 1941 with the base's first mission being the defense of Gulf of Mexico.
• In addition MacDill provided transitional training in the B-17 Flying Fortress.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".