Nonstop flight route between Minot, North Dakota, United States and Apia, Upolu Island, Samoa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Minot Air Force Base (MIB), Minot, North Dakota, United States and Faleolo International Airport (APW), Apia, Upolu Island, Samoa would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,081 miles (or 9,786 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 Minot Air Force Base and Faleolo International 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 Minot Air Force Base and Faleolo International 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 Minot Air Force Base (MIB):

• The 4th Post Attack Command & Control Squadron at Ellsworth AFB, SD maintained several EC-135 "Looking Glass" Aircraft on an alert at MAFB for coverage of the missile squadrons as a secondary Launch Control Center.
• In addition to being known as "Minot Air Force Base", another name for MIB is "Minot AFB".
• The 5th Bomb Wing is an element of the Global Strike Command and is the host unit at Minot AFB.
• The furthest airport from Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,320 miles (16,609 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Minot International Airport (MOT), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MIB.
• A Semi Automatic Ground Environment facility was built and activated in June 1961.
• On 1 February 1963, SAC, as part of a conversion to unit designations with historical significance, activated the 450th Bombardment Wing at Minot and the 720th Bombardment Squadron, along with the formation of the 450th Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron, 450th Armament & Electronics Maintenance Squadron, 450th Field Maintenance Squadron, and the 450th Organizational Maintenance Squadron simultaneously.
• Following the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-81, SAC tasked the former 57th Air Division to organize the Strategic Projection Force.
• Strategic Air Command initially had units assigned to Minot AFB in 1958 for air refueling support.

Facts about Faleolo International Airport (APW):

• The furthest airport from Faleolo International Airport (APW) is Maradi Airport (MFQ), which is nearly antipodal to Faleolo International Airport (meaning Faleolo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maradi Airport), and is located 12,373 miles (19,913 kilometers) away in Maradi, Niger.
• The closest airport to Faleolo International Airport (APW) is Maota (Salelologa) Airport (MXS), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) WNW of APW.
• Because of Faleolo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Faleolo International 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.
• Small turboprop aircraft connect American and independent Samoa.
• Faleolo Tower has some jurisdiction over the airspace of American Samoa and Tonga as well as its own airspace.
• Faleolo International Airport (APW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 58 feet above mean sea level.
• Faleolo International Airport is an airport located 40 kilometres west of Apia, the capital of Samoa.