Nonstop flight route between Kadhdhoo Island, Laamu Atoll, Maldives and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO), Kadhdhoo Island, Laamu Atoll, Maldives and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,951 miles (or 14,406 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 Kadhdhoo Airport and Grand Forks 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 Kadhdhoo Airport and Grand Forks 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 Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO):

• Because of Kadhdhoo Airport's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Kadhdhoo 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 closest airport to Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO) is Thimarafushi Airport (TMF), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) NW of KDO.
• Kadhdhoo Airport Airport is a domestic airport located on the island of Kadhdhoo in Laamu Atoll, Maldives.
• Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kadhdhoo Airport (KDO) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,313 miles (18,206 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• The project was implemented totally using local expertise, and though it was initiated under the Government’s budget alone, additional financial assistance was received from outside, notably from the United Nations Development Program, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ Fund.
• When the Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom assumed office in 1978, some of the most pressing problems faced by the country were the immense difficulty involved in traveling between Malé and the outlying islands and the adverse effects in the Maldivian fishing industry due to illegal entry of foreign fishing vessels into the Maldivian territorial waters.
• In addition to being known as "Kadhdhoo Airport", another name for KDO is "ކައްދޫ އެއަރޕޯޓް".
• Kadhdhoo is an approximately large island situated halfway between the airport of Malé and Gan.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• On 1 September 1958, the Strategic Air Command established the 4133d Strategic Wing at Grand Forks as part of its plan to disperse its B-52 heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.
• The closest airport to Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• Grand Forks Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado and 16 miles west of Grand Forks.
• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• On 26 May 1972, President Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty, which limited each nation to one site to protect strategic forces and one site to protect the "National Command Authority." With work about 85 percent complete at Grand Forks, the United States chose to finish construction at the North Dakota site.