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):

• 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 1981, a development plan for the airport recommended constructing a 3,500m east–west runway to facilitate growth in cargo operations, particularly during the night hours.
• The field was built in less than 2 months and was operational on 22 March 1945, and was designated Y-44.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) currently has only 1 runway.
• Domestic travel picked up as well, and newly created NLM CityHopper started to operate a service between Maastricht and Amsterdam Schiphol in 1966.
• Maastricht Aachen Airport is a regional airport in Beek, Netherlands, located 5 NM northeast of Maastricht and 15 NM northwest of Aachen, Germany.
• 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.
• In March 2011, the airport was certified to handle the upcoming Boeing 747-8, as two of the airports major airlines Cargolux and AirBridge Cargo have placed orders for this aircraft.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Pope Field (POB):

• The 464th received the Mackay Trophy for the dramatic RED DRAGON/DRAGON ROUGE and BLACK DRAGON/DRAGON NOIR hostage rescue missions in the Congo in 1964.
• Pope AFB is named after First Lieutenant Harley Halbert Pope who was killed on January 7, 1919, when the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny he was flying crashed into the Cape Fear River.
• The closest airport to Pope Field (POB) is Simmons Army Airfield (FBG), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) ESE of POB.
• On January 1, 1992 the 317th TAW was reassigned to Air Mobility Command and the wing was redesignated the 317th Operations Group as part of the new 23d Composite Wing at Pope.
• The United States Army Fort Bragg Garrison is the host organization at Pope Field.
• After the war, Pope Field became Pope Air Force Base with the creation of the United States Air Force on 18 September 1947.
• 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.