Nonstop flight route between Leiden, Netherlands and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID), Leiden, Netherlands and Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,449 miles (or 7,160 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 Valkenburg Naval Air Base and Northwest Alabama Regional Airport, 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 Valkenburg Naval Air Base and Northwest Alabama Regional Airport. 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 Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID):

• Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Valkenburg Naval Air Base", another name for LID is "Vliegkamp Valkenburg".
• Valkenburg Naval Air Base is a former air base located just south of Valkenburg, which is part of Katwijk and close to the city of Leiden, that was used by the Royal Netherlands Navy up until 2006, being their base for the Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft.
• Because of Valkenburg Naval Air Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Valkenburg Naval Air Base 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.
• In March of 2014 Valkenburg was used as the home base for both police and military helicopters providing security during the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit.
• The closest airport to Valkenburg Naval Air Base (LID) is Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM), which is located only 15 miles (23 kilometers) S of LID.

Facts about Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL):

• The closest airport to Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) is Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) E of MSL.
• Northwest Alabama Regional Airport is a public-use airport in Colbert County, Alabama, United States.
• The airport was opened in February 1940, however in 1942 it was taken over by the United States Army Air Forces as a World War II pilot training military airfield.
• Historically, Muscle Shoals was served by Southern Airways which operated Douglas DC-9-10 and DC-9-30 jetliners on nonstop and direct flights to Atlanta.
• Because of Northwest Alabama Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 551 feet, planes can take off or land at Northwest Alabama Regional 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.
• Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,143 miles (17,932 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.