Nonstop flight route between Melilla, (Spanish exclave in Morocco) and Rapid City, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melilla Airport (MLN), Melilla, (Spanish exclave in Morocco) and Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA), Rapid City, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,015 miles (or 8,071 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 Melilla Airport and Ellsworth 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 Melilla Airport and Ellsworth 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 Melilla Airport (MLN):

• In the past Melilla was also served by Spantax from 1969-1981, Aviaco from 1981-1992 and Binter Mediterraneo from 1992-2001.
• Melilla Airport (MLN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Melilla Airport (MLN) is Cherif Al Idrissi Airport (AHU), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) W of MLN.
• Melilla Airport is an airport located 4 km southwest Melilla, Spain.
• The furthest airport from Melilla Airport (MLN) is Great Barrier Aerodrome (GBZ), which is nearly antipodal to Melilla Airport (meaning Melilla Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Great Barrier Aerodrome), and is located 12,326 miles (19,837 kilometers) away in Great Barrier Island, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Melilla Airport", another name for MLN is "Aeropuerto de Melilla".
• The airlines serving the airport are regional carriers connecting to Spain to the north.
• The airport does not handle large jets, but following the extension of the runway, the airlines serving the airport also use medium size jets airplanes, regional jets and turboprop airliners.
• Passengers can get and from the airport by car or taxi.
• Because of Melilla Airport's relatively low elevation of 156 feet, planes can take off or land at Melilla 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.

Facts about Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA):

• Military organizations periodically upgrade manpower and machines from time to time to meet new national security requirements and Ellsworth Air Force Base's organizations were no exception.
• The airfield was again temporarily shut down from September 1946 – March 1947 and underwent a major construction program to upgrade the temporary wartime facilities to that of a permanent base.
• In addition to being known as "Ellsworth Air Force Base", another name for RCA is "Ellsworth AFB".
• The closest airport to Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA) is Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) S of RCA.
• The furthest airport from Ellsworth Air Force Base (RCA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,579 miles (17,026 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with AN/MPS-7 search radar, and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept and warning station.
• The 44th Missile Wing, however, had ably accomplished its deterrence mission.
• Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S.D.
• An Army Air-Defense Command Post was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions.