Nonstop flight route between Maripasoula, French Guiana and Berlin, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maripasoula Airport (MPY), Maripasoula, French Guiana and Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,069 miles (or 8,157 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 Maripasoula Airport and Royal Air Force Station Gatow, 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 Maripasoula Airport and Royal Air Force Station Gatow. 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 Maripasoula Airport (MPY):

• Maripasoula Airport (MPY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Maripasoula Airport (MPY) is Drietabbetje Airstrip (DRJ), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) NW of MPY.
• The furthest airport from Maripasoula Airport (MPY) is Namrole Airport (NRE), which is nearly antipodal to Maripasoula Airport (meaning Maripasoula Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Namrole Airport), and is located 12,384 miles (19,930 kilometers) away in Buru, Indonesia.
• Because of Maripasoula Airport's relatively low elevation of 377 feet, planes can take off or land at Maripasoula 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):

• The closest military neighbour to RAF Gatow was a tank unit of the National People's Army of East Germany.
• BEA moved to Tempelhof Airport in 1951, where most of West Berlin's commercial air transport operations were concentrated from then on.
• To commemorate Australian participation in the Airlift, the Royal Australian Air Force presented RAF Gatow with a retired Douglas Dakota in the 1980s, to use as a gate guardian.
• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,694 miles (18,819 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Royal Air Force Station Gatow's relatively low elevation of 161 feet, planes can take off or land at Royal Air Force Station Gatow 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) is Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NE of GWW.
• After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Chipmunk reconnaissance flights soon ceased and the two Chipmunks were flown to RAF Laarbruch, in Western Germany to await disposal action.
• RAF Gatow was also used as a civilian airport for a limited time.
• RAF Gatow has the unique and unlikely distinction of being the base for the only known operational use of flying boats in central Europe, during the Berlin Blockade, on the nearby Großer Wannsee in the Havel river.
• Alongside the Royal Air Force and various British civil aviation companies, the United States Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the South African Air Force all flew supplies into RAF Gatow during the Airlift.