Nonstop flight route between Carbondale/Murphysboro, Illinois, United States and Ramstein, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Southern Illinois Airport (MDH), Carbondale/Murphysboro, Illinois, United States and Ramstein Air Base (RMS), Ramstein, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,572 miles (or 7,357 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 Southern Illinois Airport and Ramstein Air 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 Southern Illinois Airport and Ramstein Air 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 Southern Illinois Airport (MDH):

• The furthest airport from Southern Illinois Airport (MDH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,052 miles (17,786 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport opened in 1950 and was originally known as Murdale Airport.
• Because of Southern Illinois Airport's relatively low elevation of 411 feet, planes can take off or land at Southern Illinois 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 closest airport to Southern Illinois Airport (MDH) is Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) E of MDH.
• Southern Illinois Airport (MDH) has 3 runways.

Facts about Ramstein Air Base (RMS):

• On 1 June 1953 Ramstein Air Station was opened.
• The furthest airport from Ramstein Air Base (RMS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Ramstein Air Base (meaning Ramstein Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,003 miles (19,316 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• With the creation of NATO in response to Cold War tensions in Europe in 1949, USAFE wanted its vulnerable fighter units in what was then West Germany moved west of the Rhine River to provide greater air defense warning time.
• The closest airport to Ramstein Air Base (RMS) is Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of RMS.
• From 2004 to 2006, Ramstein Air Base underwent an extensive expansion with a major construction project – including an all-new airport terminal, among other new facilities, through the so-called Rhein-Main Transition Program which was initiated in support of the total closure of Rhein-Main Air Base on 30 December 2005 and transferring all its former capacities to Ramstein Air Base and Spangdahlem Air Base.
• In addition to being known as "Ramstein Air Base", another name for RMS is "Ramstein AB".
• One legacy of the two separate air bases is that the north side of Ramstein retained a separate APO from the south side.
• The AAFCE also commanded the 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force and the 4th ATAF.