Nonstop flight route between Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands and Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST), Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands and Pope Field (POB), Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,173 miles (or 6,716 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 Pope Field, 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 Pope Field. 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 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 late 1950s and early 1960s brought significant expansion in commercial operations at the airport.
• In 1946, the service was taken over by KLM, using DC-3 Dakotas.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport handled 36,300 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Around 1980 the airport changed its name to "Maastricht Airport".
• The instrument landing system for runway 21 was upgraded to category III in 2008, which allows landings in very low visibility conditions.
• 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.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) currently has only 1 runway.
• The international air traffic control area control centre for EUROCONTROL was built at the airport.

Facts about Pope Field (POB):

• The furthest airport from Pope Field (POB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,630 miles (18,716 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Headquarters, Ninth Air Force, was located at Pope in August 1950.
• The tempo of activities at Pope quickened with the outbreak of World War II.
• In August 1971, the 464th inactivated and the 317th Tactical Airlift Wing administratively moved to Pope AFB from Lockbourne AFB, Ohio.
• Original operations included photographing terrain for mapping, carrying the mail, and spotting for artillery and forest fires.
• The closest airport to Pope Field (POB) is Simmons Army Airfield (FBG), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) ESE of POB.
• After the war, Pope Field became Pope Air Force Base with the creation of the United States Air Force on 18 September 1947.
• On December 1, 1974 the Military Airlift Command took responsibility for tactical airlift and assumed command of Pope with all of its assigned units.