Nonstop flight route between Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States and Alicante, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States and Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC), Alicante, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,648 miles (or 7,481 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 Northwest Alabama Regional Airport and Alicante-Elche Airport, 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 Northwest Alabama Regional Airport and Alicante-Elche Airport. 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 Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL):

• The closest airport to Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) is Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) E of MSL.
• The furthest airport from Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,143 miles (17,932 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Prior to summer 2009, Muscle Shoals was served from Northwest Airlines' hub in Memphis via Northwest Airlink turboprop service operated by Mesaba Airlines.
• Pilot training at the airfield apparently ended on May 30, 1944, with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.
• Because of Northwest Alabama Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 551 feet, planes can take off or land at Northwest Alabama Regional 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.
• Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) has 2 runways.
• The airport was opened in February 1940, however in 1942 it was taken over by the United States Army Air Forces as a World War II pilot training military airfield.

Facts about Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC):

• In addition to being known as "Alicante-Elche Airport", other names for ALC include "Aeropuerto de Alicante-Elche" and "Aeroport d'Alacant-Elx".
• The closest airport to Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC) is Murcia–San Javier Airport (MJV), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) SSW of ALC.
• 1D means Dock, P stands for Processor.
• Historically, up until 2003, Iberia was the leading airline at the airport.
• Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Alicante-Elche Airport's relatively low elevation of 141 feet, planes can take off or land at Alicante-Elche 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 furthest airport from Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC) is Gisborne Airport (GIS), which is nearly antipodal to Alicante-Elche Airport (meaning Alicante-Elche Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gisborne Airport), and is located 12,353 miles (19,881 kilometers) away in Gisborne, New Zealand.
• In 2011, Alicante Airport handled 9,913,764 passengers, 75,572 flight operations and 3,011 tonnes of cargo, making it the busiest airport in the Valencian Community by passenger numbers, and one of the 50 busiest in Europe.
• In 2011, the new terminal was opened at the airport increasing the annual airport capacity to 20 million passengers per year.