Nonstop flight route between Hulhulé Island, Maldives and Spokane, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE), Hulhulé Island, Maldives and Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,793 miles (or 14,152 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 Fairchild 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 Fairchild 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):

• More than 1200 employees from Maldives Airports Company Ltd will be transferred to 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ibrahim Nasir International Airport", another name for MLE is "އިބްރާހިމް ނާސިރު ބައިނަލްއަޤުވާމީ ވައިގެބަނދަރު".
• The airport opened to the public on 12 April 1966.
• Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) currently has only 1 runway.
• When the tourism industry in the Maldives began in 1972, the country was in need of an international standard airport to transport tourists to the resort islands.
• The airport came 5th in a survey conducted by PrivateFly during October and November 2011, to find the world's best airport approaches.
• GMIAL announced that the development plans included reclaiming more land at the eastern end of the runway.
• Ibrahim Nasir International first started out as a small strip of land in the then inhabited island of Hulhulé.
• On 26 July 2011 Independence Day, the Maldivian government officially changed the name of the airport to 'Ibrahim Nasir International Airport'.
• The closest airport to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) is Villa International Airport (VAM), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) SW of MLE.
• 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.

Facts about Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):

• In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
• Following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, a total of 560 base personnel deployed to Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 1990 to March 1991.
• The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.
• 7 December 1993 marked the beginning of a significant change in the mission of Fairchild when the B-52s were transferred to another ACC base while the KC-135s, now assigned to the newly established Air Mobility Command would remain.
• As military operations in Vietnam escalated in the mid-1960s, the demand for air refueling increased.
• The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Over 5,100 active duty Air Force, Air National Guard, and tenant organization military and civilian employees work on Fairchild, making the base the largest employer in Eastern Washington.
• In 1956 the wing began a conversion that brought the B-52 Stratofortress to Fairchild, followed by the KC-135 Stratotanker in 1958.