Nonstop flight route between Madrid, Spain and Louisville, Kentucky, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD), Madrid, Spain and Bowman Field (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,219 miles (or 6,791 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 Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] and Bowman Field, 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 Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] and Bowman Field. 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 Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD):

• Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) has 4 runways.
• In the 1990s, the airport expanded further.
• In December 2010, the Spanish government announced plans to tender Madrid-Barajas airport to companies in the private sector for a period of up to 40 years.
• The Madrid–Barcelona air shuttle service, known as the "Puente Aéreo", literally called "Air Bridge", is the second busiest air route in Europe after İstanbul Atatürk and İzmir, with the highest number of flight operations in 2012.
• Terminal 4, designed by Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers, and TPS Engineers, was built by Ferrovial and inaugurated on 5 February 2006.
• Barajas was voted "Best Airport" in the 2008 Condé Nast Traveller Reader Awards.
• The closest airport to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) is Madrid–Torrejón Airport (TOJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ENE of MAD.
• Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] handled 39,729,027 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1]", another name for MAD is "Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas".
• The 1982 FIFA World Cup brought significant expansion and modernisation of the airport's two existing terminals.
• The furthest airport from Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) is Palmerston North Airport (PMR), which is nearly antipodal to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (meaning Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Palmerston North Airport), and is located 12,392 miles (19,943 kilometers) away in Palmerston North, New Zealand.

Facts about Bowman Field (LOU):

• The dominant landmark of Bowman Field is its terminal, known as the Administration Building, styled in aerodynamic Moderne.
• Bowman Field (LOU) has 2 runways.
• Bowman Field is Kentucky's first commercial airport and is the oldest continually operating commercial airfield in North America.
• The furthest airport from Bowman Field (LOU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,243 miles (18,093 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Bowman Field (LOU) is Louisville International Airport (SDF), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) SW of LOU.
• During the Great Depression, Louisvillians would often come to the Art Deco terminal building to watch airplanes depart and land as a form of inexpensive entertainment.
• Because of Bowman Field's relatively low elevation of 546 feet, planes can take off or land at Bowman Field 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.