Nonstop flight route between Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States and Axum, Ethiopia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States and Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU), Axum, Ethiopia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,564 miles (or 12,174 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 Axum Emperor Yohannes IV 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 Axum Emperor Yohannes IV 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):

• Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• Historically, Muscle Shoals was served by Southern Airways which operated Douglas DC-9-10 and DC-9-30 jetliners on nonstop and direct flights to Atlanta.
• 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.
• As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 5,061 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 6,897 in 2009, and 8,680 in 2010.

Facts about Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU):

• In addition to being known as "Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport", another name for AXU is "የአክሱም ዮሃነስ አራት የአየር ማረፊያ".
• The closest airport to Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU) is Alula Aba Nega Airport (MQX), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) SE of AXU.
• The furthest airport from Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU) is Fangatau Airport (FGU), which is nearly antipodal to Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (meaning Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Fangatau Airport), and is located 12,318 miles (19,824 kilometers) away in Fangatau, French Polynesia.
• On 2 May 1987, Douglas C-47A ET-AGT of Ethiopian Airlines was destroyed on the ground in an attack on the airport by Ethiopian Air Force MiG-23s.
• Axum Airport, also known as Emperor Yohannes IV Airport, is an airport serving Axum, a city in the northern Tigray Region of Ethiopia.
• Because of Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport's high elevation of 6,916 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AXU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AXU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Axum Emperor Yohannes IV Airport (AXU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Axum Airport resides at an elevation of 2,108 metres above mean sea level.