Nonstop flight route between Lugano, Agno, Switzerland and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lugano Airport (LUG), Lugano, Agno, Switzerland and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,574 miles (or 7,360 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 Lugano 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 Lugano 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 Lugano Airport (LUG):

• The airport's instrument approach procedure is quite challenging because of its steep angle of descent of 6.65°, more than double of the standard approach angle of 3°.
• The closest airport to Lugano Airport (LUG) is Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSW of LUG.
• Because of Lugano Airport's relatively low elevation of 915 feet, planes can take off or land at Lugano 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 furthest airport from Lugano Airport (LUG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Lugano Airport (meaning Lugano Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,134 miles (19,527 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Lugano Airport (LUG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is situated on land owned by the city of Lugano, whilst management is the responsibility of Lugano Airport SA, whose shares are owned by the canton of Ticino and the city.
• In addition to being known as "Lugano Airport", another name for LUG is "Aeroporto di Lugano".
• An adjacent building to the terminal building houses the ground side airport restaurant and flying club, with outdoor seating under an awning between the two buildings.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Mobility Command's 319th Air Base Wing.
• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• 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.
• 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.
• SAGE operations were extremely expansive and GFADS was inactivated on 1 December 1963, when it was merged with the Minot Air Defense Sector at Minot AFB to the west.
• On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".