Nonstop flight route between Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States and Faro, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States and Faro International Airport (FAO), Faro, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,321 miles (or 6,955 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 Faro International 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 Faro International 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):

• 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.
• Pilot training at the airfield apparently ended on May 30, 1944, with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.
• 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.
• 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.
• Instruction at the school consisted of teaching the cadets to fly in formation, fly by instruments or by aerial navigation, fly at night, and fly for long distances.

Facts about Faro International Airport (FAO):

• Faro International Airport (FAO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Faro International Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Faro International 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.
• Faro Airport is located 4 km to the west of Faro, Portugal.
• Since its opening in 1966 Faro airport has had two major developments, the new passenger terminal building in 1989 and its enlargement in 2001.
• The furthest airport from Faro International Airport (FAO) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is nearly antipodal to Faro International Airport (meaning Faro International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dargaville Aerodrome), and is located 12,310 miles (19,810 kilometers) away in Dargaville, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Faro International Airport (FAO) is Portimão Airport (PRM), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WNW of FAO.
• More than ten car rental firms service the airport.
• In addition to being known as "Faro International Airport", another name for FAO is "Aeroporto Internacional de Faro".
• Faro International Airport handled 5,672,377 passengers last year.