Nonstop flight route between Mekane Selam, Ethiopia and Tampa, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mekane Selam Airport (MKS), Mekane Selam, Ethiopia and MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,693 miles (or 12,380 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 Mekane Selam Airport and MacDill 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 Mekane Selam Airport and MacDill 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 Mekane Selam Airport (MKS):

• In addition to being known as "Mekane Selam Airport", another name for MKS is "Mekane Selam".
• The closest airport to Mekane Selam Airport (MKS) is Combolcha Airport (DSE), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) ENE of MKS.
• The furthest airport from Mekane Selam Airport (MKS) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Mekane Selam Airport (meaning Mekane Selam Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,270 miles (19,747 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

Facts about MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):

• In addition to the antisubmarine mission, another prewar mission of MacDill was "Project X" the ferrying of combat aircraft eastward to the Philippines via ferrying routes set up by Ferrying Command over South Atlantic Ocean and Central Africa.
• Two secondary Army Airfields, Brooksville Army Airfield and Hillsborough Army Airfield were built and opened in early 1942 to support the flight operations of MacDill and Drew Fields.
• Flying operations at MacDill began in 1941 with the base's first mission being the defense of Gulf of Mexico.
• The furthest airport from MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
• After the war in Europe had broken out in September 1939, fears of Nazi U-Boats attacking American shipping in the Gulf of Mexico was the concern of the War Department.
• The host unit at MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Mobility Wing, assigned to the Air Mobility Command's 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force.
• The closest airport to MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of MCF.
• Beginning in January 1944, the 11th Photographic Group used MacDill for its mission of photographic mapping in the US and sent detachments to carry out similar operations in Africa, the CBI theater, the Near and Middle East, Mexico, Canada, Alaska, and the Caribbean.