Nonstop flight route between Tampa, Florida, United States and Abemama Atoll, Kiribati:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States and Abemama Atoll Airport (AEA), Abemama Atoll, Kiribati would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,034 miles (or 11,321 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 MacDill Air Force Base and Abemama Atoll 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 MacDill Air Force Base and Abemama Atoll 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 MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):

• The closest airport to MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of MCF.
• After the war in Europe had broken out in September 1939, fears of Nazi U-Boats attacking American shipping in the Gulf of Mexico was the concern of the War Department.
• Also located at MacDill are a division of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Joint Communications Support Element, the Florida Air National Guard's 290th Joint Communications Support Squadron, the Navy Reserve Forces Command's Navy Operational Support Center Tampa, the US Army's 297th Military Intelligence Battalion, the Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory, activities of the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
• Several bases in Florida, including MacDill, served as detention centers for German prisoners-of-war in the latter part of 1944 and 1945.
• The furthest airport from MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to the antisubmarine mission, another prewar mission of MacDill was "Project X" the ferrying of combat aircraft eastward to the Philippines via ferrying routes set up by Ferrying Command over South Atlantic Ocean and Central Africa.

Facts about Abemama Atoll Airport (AEA):

• Abemama Airport was originally built in late 1943 by the United States Navy Seabees for the United States Army Air Forces.
• The closest airport to Abemama Atoll Airport (AEA) is Aranuka Airport (AAK), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) SSW of AEA.
• The furthest airport from Abemama Atoll Airport (AEA) is Cape Palmas Airport (CPA), which is nearly antipodal to Abemama Atoll Airport (meaning Abemama Atoll Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cape Palmas Airport), and is located 12,084 miles (19,448 kilometers) away in Cape Palmas, Liberia.
• In March 1944, the USAAF combat units moved west into the Marshalls, and Abemama became a transport hub for the 9th Troop Carrier Squadron until August.
• The airport is served by Air Kiribati from the international airport at South Tarawa on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
• Abemama Atoll Airport, often abbreviated Abemama Airport, is the airport serving Abemama, Kiribati.
• Because of Abemama Atoll Airport's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at Abemama Atoll 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.