Nonstop flight route between Madrid, Spain and Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD), Madrid, Spain and Tawau Airport (TWU), Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,632 miles (or 12,283 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 Tawau 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 Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] and Tawau 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 Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD):

• The airport was constructed in 1927, opening to national and international air traffic on 22 April 1931, although regular commercial operations began two years later.
• In addition to being known as "Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1]", another name for MAD is "Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas".
• Following the death of former Spanish Prime Minister, Adolfo Suárez, the Spanish Ministerio de Fomento has announced that the airport is to be renamed to Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez, Madrid–Barajas.
• 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.
• During the construction of Terminal 4, two more runways were constructed to aid in the flow of air traffic arriving and departing from Barajas.
• In the 1990s, the airport expanded further.
• 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.
• On 27 January 2012, Spanair suspended all flights affecting Madrid-Barajas as well as other domestic and international connections.
• Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) has 4 runways.

Facts about Tawau Airport (TWU):

• According to a survey, the old airport has one of the shortest runways in the country.
• Because of Tawau Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Tawau 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.
• Tawau Airport handled 1,202,344 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Tawau Airport", another name for TWU is "Lapangan Terbang Tawau".
• Tawau Airport is an airport located 15 nautical miles north east of Tawau, a town in the state of Sabah in Malaysia.
• Tawau Airport (TWU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Tawau Airport (TWU) is Nunukan Airport (NNX), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) WSW of TWU.
• Tawau airport is the nearest airport to the diving islands of Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai.
• Open air car park is provided with 500 parking lots.
• The furthest airport from Tawau Airport (TWU) is Coari Airport (CIZ), which is nearly antipodal to Tawau Airport (meaning Tawau Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Coari Airport), and is located 12,350 miles (19,875 kilometers) away in Coari, Amazonas, Brazil.
• The airport was subsequently opened to public in December 2001.