Nonstop flight route between Hulhulé Island, Maldives and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE), Hulhulé Island, Maldives and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,792 miles (or 14,149 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 Ibrahim Nasir International Airport and Grand Forks 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 Ibrahim Nasir International Airport and Grand Forks 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 Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE):

• In September 2010, GMR-MAHB consortium registered "GMR Malé International Airport Pvt.
• Because of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Ibrahim Nasir 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.
• The closest airport to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) is Villa International Airport (VAM), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) SW of MLE.
• In addition to being known as "Ibrahim Nasir International Airport", another name for MLE is "އިބްރާހިމް ނާސިރު ބައިނަލްއަޤުވާމީ ވައިގެބަނދަރު".
• On 26 July 2011 Independence Day, the Maldivian government officially changed the name of the airport to 'Ibrahim Nasir International Airport'.
• The furthest airport from Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,289 miles (18,168 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Ibrahim Nasir International first started out as a small strip of land in the then inhabited island of Hulhulé.
• Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) currently has only 1 runway.
• As of March 2013, SriLankan Airlines is the largest foreign carrier into Maldives with 32 flights a week.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• The 319th transitioned from B-52H to re-engined B-52G aircraft in 1983, and added the AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile in 1984.
• The closest airport to Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• On 26 May 1972, President Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty, which limited each nation to one site to protect strategic forces and one site to protect the "National Command Authority." With work about 85 percent complete at Grand Forks, the United States chose to finish construction at the North Dakota site.
• The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.