Nonstop flight route between Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia and Abilene, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX), Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia and Dyess Air Force Base (DYS), Abilene, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,284 miles (or 13,331 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 Alula Aba Nega Airport and Dyess 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 Alula Aba Nega Airport and Dyess 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 Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX):

• Because of Alula Aba Nega Airport's high elevation of 7,406 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MQX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MQX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Alula Aba Nega Airport", another name for MQX is "አሉላ አባ ነጋ ዓለም አቀፍ የአየር ማረፊያ".
• On 22 August 1982, Douglas DC-3 ET-AHP of Ethiopian Airlines was damaged beyond repair in a take-off accident.
• The closest airport to Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX) is Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) NW of MQX.
• Alula Aba Nega Airport, also known as Mek'ele Airport, is an airport serving Mek'ele, the capital city of the Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia.
• The furthest airport from Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX) is Fangatau Airport (FGU), which is nearly antipodal to Alula Aba Nega Airport (meaning Alula Aba Nega Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fangatau Airport), and is located 12,272 miles (19,750 kilometers) away in Fangatau, French Polynesia.
• Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Alula Aba Nega Airport handled 112,060 passengers last year.

Facts about Dyess Air Force Base (DYS):

• The 77th and 69th groups were units that trained reconnaissance personnel who later served overseas.
• The closest airport to Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Abilene Regional Airport (ABI), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of DYS.
• In addition to being known as "Dyess Air Force Base", another name for DYS is "Dyess AFB".
• Dyess' first active combat unit was the 341st Bombardment Wing, which activated on 1 September 1955.
• The furthest airport from Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,080 miles (17,831 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Units stationed at Dyess Air Force Base while the 5/517th was operational included SAC's 819th Strategic Aerospace Division, the 96th BW, and the 578th Strategic Missile Squadron.