Nonstop flight route between Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands and Alton, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST), Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands and St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN), Alton, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,426 miles (or 7,122 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 Maastricht Aachen Airport and St. Louis Regional 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 Maastricht Aachen Airport and St. Louis Regional 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 Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST):

• Authority over what was to become known as Beek airfield, was officially transferred to the Dutch government on 1 August 1945.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport handled 36,300 passengers last year.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) is NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ENE of MST.
• Around 1980 the airport changed its name to "Maastricht Airport".
• Because of Maastricht Aachen Airport's relatively low elevation of 375 feet, planes can take off or land at Maastricht Aachen 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 Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,935 miles (19,207 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre of the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation is also located on the airport.
• The first unit to be based at the field was the 31st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, flying the F-6, a reconnaissance version of the P-51 Mustang.
• In 1973 the airport was expanded again to handle bigger aircraft.
• On 14 May 1985, Pope John Paul II held an open air mass for 50,000 people at the airport, as part of his visit to the Netherlands.
• Substantial investments in the airport infrastructure have been made since the privatization.

Facts about St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN):

• The furthest airport from St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,002 miles (17,706 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Today a fair amount of air traffic and the Direct TV blimp comes for Cardinals playoffs, as Lambert's airport cannot take the blimp.
• St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) has 2 runways.
• West Star Aviation is the largest fixed base operations company at the airport.
• The closest airport to St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN) is Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) WSW of ALN.
• In the spring of 2004 the airport was at the center of a scandal.
• Because of St. Louis Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 544 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Louis 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.