Nonstop flight route between Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States and Plovdiv, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States and Plovdiv Airport (PDV), Plovdiv, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,628 miles (or 9,057 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 Plovdiv 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 Plovdiv 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Plovdiv Airport (PDV):

• In addition to being known as "Plovdiv Airport", other names for PDV include "Krumovo Airport" and "Летище Пловдив".
• On the west side of the airport is located 24th Helicopter Air Base of the Bulgarian Air Force, with Eurocopter AS 532, Mil Mi-24, Mil Mi-17 and Bell 206 units.
• On 2 October 1947, the regional newspaper "Fatherland Voice" reported that over a period of 45 days 1,500 passengers were carried, noting that the flights were always on time.
• Plovdiv Airport (PDV) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Plovdiv Airport (PDV) is Haskovo Malevo Airport (HKV), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) E of PDV.
• The furthest airport from Plovdiv Airport (PDV) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,355 miles (18,273 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Plovdiv Airport's relatively low elevation of 597 feet, planes can take off or land at Plovdiv 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.
• On 18 December 1982 the first aircraft TU-134 arrived, a charter flight from Amsterdam, the beginning of a new era for Plovdiv Airport.
• Plovdiv Airport handled 8,752 passengers last year.