Nonstop flight route between Pickens, South Carolina, United States and Tripoli, Libya:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pickens County Airport (LQK), Pickens, South Carolina, United States and Mitiga International Airport (MJI), Tripoli, Libya would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,266 miles (or 8,475 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 Pickens County Airport and Mitiga International 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 Pickens County Airport and Mitiga International 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 Pickens County Airport (LQK):

• The furthest airport from Pickens County Airport (LQK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,421 miles (18,380 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Pickens County Airport (LQK) is Oconee County Regional Airport (CEU), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) SW of LQK.
• Pickens County Airport (LQK) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Mitiga International Airport (MJI):

• On 21 August 2011, rebels launched an assault on Mitiga as part of a bid to battle loyalist forces in Tripoli, sustaining a number of casualties in the process
• Air services to Libya were suspended during the civil war of 2011, airlines have started returning since the situation has stabilised, this included three foreign carriers launching service to Mitiga on a temporary basis, as the main Tripoli International Airport was closed to traffic.
• The fourteen-hour 9,300-kilometre round trip to Libya required numerous in-air refuelings, because countries closer to Libya – Spain, Italy, France, and Greece – had refused American planes permission to fly over or from bases in their countries.
• In addition to being known as "Mitiga International Airport", another name for MJI is "مطار امعيتيقة الدولي".
• During the 2011 Libyan civil war, the The Times and The Guardian reported claims that the airport had been taken over by protestors opposed to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
• Because of Mitiga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Mitiga 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.
• Mitiga International Airport (MJI) has 2 runways.
• On 25 October 2011, Google Earth released mutlispectral imagery from Geo Eye taken on 28 August which showed the airfield as well as the highly capable MiG-25 aircraft without any visible damage.
• The furthest airport from Mitiga International Airport (MJI) is Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), which is located 11,524 miles (18,546 kilometers) away in Avarua, Cook Islands.
• The closest airport to Mitiga International Airport (MJI) is Tripoli International Airport (TIP), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of MJI.
• The airport was originally built in 1923 and served as Mellaha Air Base for the Italian Air Force.