Nonstop flight route between Minot, North Dakota, United States and Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Minot Air Force Base (MIB), Minot, North Dakota, United States and Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN), Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,383 miles (or 7,053 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 Cologne/Bonn 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 Cologne/Bonn 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 862d Combat Support Group was deactivated on 31 July 1972, with host unit duties being taken over by the 91st Combat Support Group.
• 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.
• Following the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-81, SAC tasked the former 57th Air Division to organize the Strategic Projection Force.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Minot Air Force Base", another name for MIB is "Minot AFB".
• Strategic Air Command initially had units assigned to Minot AFB in 1958 for air refueling support.
• Construction of Minot AFB began in May 1956 and it officially opened on 10 January 1957, named for the nearby city of Minot.

Facts about Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN):

• The closest airport to Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) NNW of CGN.
• Because of Cologne/Bonn Airport's relatively low elevation of 302 feet, planes can take off or land at Cologne/Bonn 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.
• During the 50s and 60s two more runways and a new terminal were constructed.
• Also, the Canadian Forces began to use the airport as a staging area to move troops and supplies in support of humanitarian missions and possible anti-terrorism roles.
• Cologne/Bonn Airport handled 9,280,070 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,921 miles (19,185 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Cologne/Bonn Airport", another name for CGN is "Flughafen Köln/Bonn".
• Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) has 3 runways.