Nonstop flight route between Leeuwarden, Netherlands and Medan, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR), Leeuwarden, Netherlands and Polonia International Airport (MES), Medan, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,142 miles (or 9,884 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 Leeuwarden Air Base and Polonia 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 Leeuwarden Air Base and Polonia 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 Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR):

• The closest airport to Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR) is Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) ESE of LWR.
• In 2016 a squadron of MQ-9 Reapers will be based at Leeuwarden Air Base to be fully operational as of 2017.
• Because of Leeuwarden Air Base's relatively low elevation of 3 feet, planes can take off or land at Leeuwarden 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.
• The airport of Leeuwarden was built in 1938, and originally was used as an airport between Schiphol – Eelde.
• In addition to being known as "Leeuwarden Air Base", another name for LWR is "Vliegbasis Leeuwarden".
• Leeuwarden Air Base is also one of the three military airbases, which organises the annual public open days of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, consisting of an air show and static exhibits.
• The furthest airport from Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,778 miles (18,955 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Leeuwarden Air Base (LWR) has 2 runways.

Facts about Polonia International Airport (MES):

• In 1975, according to a joint decree issued by the Department of Defence and Security, Department of Transportation, and Department of Finance, the airport was jointly managed between the Indonesian Air Force and the Civil Aviation.
• In addition to being known as "Polonia International Airport", other names for MES include "Bandar Udara Internasional Polonia" and "WIMK".
• Because of Polonia International Airport's relatively low elevation of 114 feet, planes can take off or land at Polonia 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.
• The airport suffered from overcrowding, serving 7,5 million passengers annually in facilities designed to handle only 900,000 passengers.
• The closest airport to Polonia International Airport (MES) is Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ENE of MES.
• Polonia International Airport is an airport located in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, about 2 km from the downtown.
• The furthest airport from Polonia International Airport (MES) is Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport (TBP), which is nearly antipodal to Polonia International Airport (meaning Polonia International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodríguez Airport), and is located 12,371 miles (19,910 kilometers) away in Tumbes, Peru.
• Polonia International Airport now belongs to the Indonesian Air Force and will be transformed into a military base.