Nonstop flight route between Medina, Saudi Arabia and Great Falls, Montana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED), Medina, Saudi Arabia and Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,139 miles (or 11,489 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 Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport and Malmstrom Air Force 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 Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport and Malmstrom Air Force 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 Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED):

• Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport handled 1,592,000 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED) is Yanbu International Airport (YNB), which is located 107 miles (172 kilometers) WSW of MED.
• The furthest airport from Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED) is Tureira Airport (ZTA), which is nearly antipodal to Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (meaning Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tureira Airport), and is located 12,153 miles (19,559 kilometers) away in Tureia, Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
• Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED) has 2 runways.
• It is the fourth busiest airport in Saudi Arabia, handling 1,592,000 passengers in 2004, including 378,715 Hajj charter passengers.

Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• In 1959 a SAGE data center was established at Malmstrom.
• Z-147 was completely replaced by a new ARSR-4 JSS site on Bootlegger Ridge, about 14 miles northeast of Great Falls AFB.
• In late 1962 missiles assigned to 341st would play a major role in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• In November 1942, a survey team evaluated an area near the Green Mill Dance Club and Rainbow Dam Road approximately six miles east of Great Falls.
• DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
• Aircraft shipments to the Soviet Union stopped in September 1945, when World War II ended, with approximately 8,000 aircraft having been processed in a 21-month period.
• The closest airport to Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Great Falls International Airport (GTF), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of GFA.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• The furthest airport from Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,495 miles (16,891 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Great Falls played a major aerial defense role in North American air defense mission.