Nonstop flight route between Lourdes, France and Knob Noster, Missouri, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE), Lourdes, France and Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL), Knob Noster, Missouri, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,620 miles (or 7,434 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 Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport and Whiteman 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 Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport and Whiteman 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 Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE):

• In addition to being known as "Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport", another name for LDE is "Aéroport de Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées".
• The furthest airport from Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (meaning Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,254 miles (19,721 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE) is Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WNW of LDE.
• Over 70% of the airport traffic is charter flight from a variety of airlines across Europe journeying to the nearby Lourdes as part of a Catholic pilgrimage.
• Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL):

• In May 1942, construction workers descended upon an area known to locals as the "Blue Flats" because of the color of the soil and began building a railroad spur for the new air base.
• In addition to being known as "Whiteman Air Force Base", another name for SZL is "Whiteman AFB".
• The 442nd Fighter Wing, an Air Force Reserve Command unit controlled by the Tenth Air Force
• The furthest airport from Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,815 miles (17,405 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On 1 July 1990, the 100th Air Division activated at Whiteman and assumed host responsibilities for the base.
• The closest airport to Whiteman Air Force Base (SZL) is Sedalia Regional Airport (DMO), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of SZL.
• Construction on Whiteman continued throughout the 1950s.
• The host unit at Whiteman AFB is the 509th Bomb Wing, assigned to the Eighth Air Force of the Air Force Global Strike Command.