Nonstop flight route between Tripoli, Libya and New Orleans, Louisiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mitiga International Airport (MJI), Tripoli, Libya and Lakefront Airport (NEW), New Orleans, Louisiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,804 miles (or 9,340 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 Lakefront 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 Mitiga International Airport and Lakefront 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 Mitiga International Airport (MJI):

• After 1970, the facility was known as Okba Ben Nafi Air Base, a Libyan People's Air Force installation.
• In addition to being known as "Mitiga International Airport", another name for MJI is "مطار امعيتيقة الدولي".
• 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 closest airport to Mitiga International Airport (MJI) is Tripoli International Airport (TIP), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of MJI.
• After the USAF left, Wheelus became a Libyan People's Air Force installation and was renamed Okba Ben Nafi Air Base.
• 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.
• On 13 March 2011, Ali Atiyya, a colonel of the Libyan Air Force at the airport, defected and joined the anti-Gaddafi forces.
• The 48 TFW had practiced for years at Wheelus with F-100s and later at Zaragoza AB Spain with F-4D Phantoms and the F-111s for just such a mission.
• Air services to Libya were suspended during the civil war of 2011, airlines have started returning since the situation has stabilised, this included three foreign carriers launching service to Mitiga on a temporary basis, as the main Tripoli International Airport was closed to traffic.
• 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.

Facts about Lakefront Airport (NEW):

• At the start of the 1960s, thick concrete panels were added to the main terminal building to turn it into a Cold War era bomb shelter.
• In addition to being known as "Lakefront Airport", another name for NEW is "(former New Orleans Army Air Base)".
• The closest airport to Lakefront Airport (NEW) is Southern Seaplane Airport (BCS), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) S of NEW.
• Lakefront Airport is a public use airport located four nautical miles northeast of the central business district of New Orleans, in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States.
• The furthest airport from Lakefront Airport (NEW) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,127 miles (17,908 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Lakefront Airport (NEW) has 3 runways.
• Because of Lakefront Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Lakefront 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.