Nonstop flight route between Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands and Columbus, New Mexico, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST), Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands and Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS), Columbus, New Mexico, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,435 miles (or 8,747 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 Columbus Municipal 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 Columbus Municipal 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):

• After the allied invasion of Normandy, the USAAF Ninth Air Force, specifically the IX Engineer Command, was tasked with constructing temporary airfields close to the advancing front.
• The late 1950s and early 1960s brought significant expansion in commercial operations at the airport.
• The international air traffic control area control centre for EUROCONTROL was built at the airport.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport handled 36,300 passengers last year.
• Because of the proximity to the new headquarters, the decision was made to create a temporary airfield between the towns of Beek, Geulle and Ulestraten.
• The instrument landing system for runway 21 was upgraded to category III in 2008, which allows landings in very low visibility conditions.

Facts about Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS):

• The next use of the airfield was when the Department of Commerce refitted the facility as one of its network of Intermediate Landing Fields, which were established in the 1920s & 1930s to serve as emergency landing fields along commercial airways between major cities.
• Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Columbus Municipal Airport", other names for CUS include "Historical Airport", "Modern Airfield" and "0NM0".
• The airport's operations ceased abruptly with the arrest of the notorious "Columbus Air Force" drug-running gang by the DEA in the late 1970s.
• Twelve R-2s were delivered to the squadron in May, but the planes, which had been very hastily constructed, were missing vital spare parts and had faulty wiring and leaky fuel tanks.
• A building at the airport was used as a terminal, with a communication & weather station.
• Because of Columbus Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,024 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CUS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CUS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• During the Mexican Revolution, hundreds of Pancho Villa's horsemen crossed the United States border and raided Columbus, New Mexico on 9 March 1916.
• The fliers arrived on 20 April 1916, and found four new Curtiss N-8s, an export version of the JN-4, the latest model of the Jenny.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,433 miles (18,400 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Columbus Municipal Airport (CUS) is Deming Municipal AirportDeming Army Airfield (DMN), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) N of CUS.
• Today, efforts are being made to restore part of the airport and re-establish it as an active facility for general aviation.
• After World War I, Columbus Airfield was used by the Army as part of their patrol flights along the Mexican border.