Nonstop flight route between Tripoli, Libya and Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mitiga International Airport (MJI), Tripoli, Libya and Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,545 miles (or 7,315 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 Mitiga International Airport and Westover Air Reserve 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 Mitiga International Airport and Westover Air Reserve 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 Mitiga International Airport (MJI):

• In addition to being known as "Mitiga International Airport", another name for MJI is "مطار امعيتيقة الدولي".
• On 13 March 2011, Ali Atiyya, a colonel of the Libyan Air Force at the airport, defected and joined the anti-Gaddafi forces.
• On 25 October 2011, Google Earth released mutlispectral imagery from Geo Eye taken on 28 August which showed the airfield as well as the highly capable MiG-25 aircraft without any visible damage.
• Operation El Dorado Canyon included eighteen 48 TFW F-111F "Aardvark" fighter-bombers, five EF-111A "Sparkvarks" from the 66th Electronic Combat Wing/42nd Electronic Combat Squadron at RAF Upper Heyford, UK, and carrier-based US Navy F-14 Tomcats and A-6E Intruders.
• After the USAF left, Wheelus became a Libyan People's Air Force installation and was renamed Okba Ben Nafi Air Base.
• The furthest airport from Mitiga International Airport (MJI) is Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), which is located 11,524 miles (18,546 kilometers) away in Avarua, Cook Islands.
• The fourteen-hour 9,300-kilometre round trip to Libya required numerous in-air refuelings, because countries closer to Libya – Spain, Italy, France, and Greece – had refused American planes permission to fly over or from bases in their countries.
• The closest airport to Mitiga International Airport (MJI) is Tripoli International Airport (TIP), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of MJI.
• Alitalia and Turkish Airlines also moved back to Tripoli International after it reopened.
• Mitiga International Airport (MJI) has 2 runways.
• Because of Mitiga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Mitiga 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.
• During the 2011 Libyan civil war, the The Times and The Guardian reported claims that the airport had been taken over by protestors opposed to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Facts about Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):

• Westover Air Reserve Base is an Air Force Reserve Command installation located in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Ludlow, near the city of Springfield, Massachusetts.
• The furthest airport from Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,731 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The mission of Westover was to organize and provide initial training to new combat units.
• The 60th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was moved to the base in January 1951 flying F-86A Sabres and assumed an air defense mission, providing air defense in the northeastern United States.
• The closest airport to Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) WSW of CEF.
• Building at the base was constant throughout 1941.
• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• With the end of World War II, Westover Field was designated as a permanent United States Army Air Force installation in 1945 and was not inactivated as most of the wartime temporary training airfields were in the fall of 1945.
• Physically, Westover is the largest Air Force Reserve base in the United States and will expand significantly over the next decade to further encompass Active and Reserve Component activities of the Navy, Marines, Army, and mainline Air Force functions from installations closed by the Base Realignment and Closure process.