Nonstop flight route between Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands and Del Rio, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST), Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands and Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF), Del Rio, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,324 miles (or 8,568 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 Laughlin Air Force Base, 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 Laughlin Air Force Base. 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):

• A promotion campaign by the Dutch tourist board for the nearby town of Valkenburg aan de Geul, aimed at British tourists, was highly successful and brought services by Invicta Airlines, Britannia and Channel Airways.
• Domestic travel picked up as well, and newly created NLM CityHopper started to operate a service between Maastricht and Amsterdam Schiphol in 1966.
• 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.
• As Nazi Germany was rapidly collapsing, the front was already well into Germany by the time the field was ready, and no direct combat sorties were operated from Y-44.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport handled 36,300 passengers last year.
• The international air traffic control area control centre for EUROCONTROL was built at the airport.
• 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 field was built in less than 2 months and was operational on 22 March 1945, and was designated Y-44.
• Authority over what was to become known as Beek airfield, was officially transferred to the Dutch government on 1 August 1945.
• 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.
• Substantial investments in the airport infrastructure have been made since the privatization.

Facts about Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF):

• The closest airport to Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Del Rio International Airport (DRT), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) W of DLF.
• The Air Force transferred jurisdiction of the base to the Strategic Air Command on April 1, 1957 and the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing moved there from Turner Air Force Base, Georgia.
• Park University offers onsite and online classes on base.
• As of the census of 2014, there were 2,225 people, 651 households, and 570 families residing on the base.
• On the base the population was spread out with 30.6% under the age of 18, 23.6% from 18 to 24, 42.7% from 25 to 44, 2.5% from 45 to 64, and 0.6% who were 65 years of age or older.
• Aside from the reservoir outside of Del Rio for fishing and some lake diving, most forms of recreation are either in the town of Del Rio or across the border in Ciudad Acuña, however current DoD policy does not allow travel across the border for military personnel.
• Laughlin U-2s were among the first to provide photographic evidence of Soviet missile installations in Cuba in 1962 when 4080th U-2 pilot Major Steve Heyser flew his U-2C over Cuba after taking off from Edwards AFB, California.
• The furthest airport from Laughlin Air Force Base (DLF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,241 miles (18,091 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.