Nonstop flight route between Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Bossier City, Louisiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ladysmith Airport (LAY), Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD), Bossier City, Louisiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,098 miles (or 14,642 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 Ladysmith Airport and Barksdale 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 Ladysmith Airport and Barksdale 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 Ladysmith Airport (LAY):

• The closest airport to Ladysmith Airport (LAY) is Mokhotlong Airport (MKH), which is located 64 miles (102 kilometers) SW of LAY.
• Ladysmith Airport (LAY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ladysmith Airport (LAY) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,789 miles (18,972 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD):

• The furthest airport from Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,884 miles (17,516 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The 2d Bomb Wing conducts the primary mission of Barksdale AFB with three squadrons of B-52H Stratofortress bombers – the 11th Bomb Squadron, which is the training squadron, the 20th Bomb Squadron and the 96th Bomb Squadron.
• Airships were still in use when field construction began, so Hangars One and Two were built large enough to accommodate them.
• Barksdale was developed as an Air Corps flying school November 1940 and the runway apron was completed mid-1941.
• On 1 November 1949, Barksdale was reassigned to Strategic Air Command, and became home of Headquarters Second Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Barksdale Air Force Base", another name for BAD is "Barksdale AFB".
• The closest airport to Barksdale Air Force Base (BAD) is Shreveport Downtown Airport (DTN), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) WNW of BAD.
• Barksdale Field was renamed Barksdale Air Force Base on 13 January 1948, with the designation of the United States Air Force as a separate service in 1947.